Pokemon Special: The Origin of Manaphy
by Ballpoint Angel
Summary: A PokeSpe fanfic! The Pokedex Holders gather once again, and the world is thrown into sudden disturbance. How will they prepare for the coming of the newest legendary-The Prince of the Sea? Rated T for violence and language. Revised!
1. Chapter 1: The Gathering

_**A/N (Author's Note):**__ This is one of my first fanfics, so I hope that it is okay. Constructive criticism will be welcomed. Flames...no, not at all. Please read and review. Thanks!_

**Chapter 1: The Gathering**

"The wheels on the bus go round and round..."

The white tour bus kept going rickety-rack over the dry cracked earth road toward Hearthome City. The muddy route of Pastoria's rainy paths hardened in the scorching summer sun, and lumps of wet mud grew into dusty road bumps.

Inside the bus were the Pokédex Holders, at least the male half. Eight young men save the bus driver were lolling in the hot August sun. The senior holders were seated on the right side with the driver; the younger holders were seated on the left nearest the bus doors.

Diamond was singing sleepily about wheels and buses, his Munchlax – Beh - snoring on his lap. The mellow Trainer was a born comedian, the funnyman of a comedy duo. Observant and quiet, he was a gentle soul despite his shielded aura. Of them all, Diamond was an excellent cook and Poffin maker, which explained his somewhat gluttonous tendencies. His steel-blue eyes were half-closed, his grey-black crew cut trembling in the weak wind. He feebly tried to strengthen the breeze by fanning himself with his battle journal.

Beside him was Pearl, fanning himself with one of their manzai books. His pale blond hair stuck up in two distinctive directions-the normally fiery peach-orange eyes tired and closed. The straight man of the comedy duo, Pearl was sharp and impulsive. He was the son of Battle Tower Tycoon Palmer; the tendency to rush things ran in their blood. His own Chatot, Chatlord, was perched near the windowsill, trying to bring in the too-light air with its wings.

Red was dozing lightly, his black spiked hair slightly damp from sweat. His signature red jacket and cap were on his lap, leaving his black sleeveless undershirt on. Always cheerful, confident and friendly, Red was the first Pokédex Holder, and the defending Champion of the Kanto Region for the past seven years. With a brave heart and a knack for instantaneously directing a Pokémon's energies to victory, Red was deemed the Battler. His companion Pika snuggled in his arms - the Pikachu had been around constantly for years.

Next to him was his closest rival Green, who was pushing his long brown bangs out of his eyes. Cool and cunning, as well as a perfectionist, Green was the grandson of Professor Oak. He was always very technical in most things, from raising Pokémon to his own martial arts training. Not only was he taught by the Cianwood Gym leader Chuck, he himself was the Gym leader of Viridian City. His ability to instantly bring a Pokémon to its full potential gave him the title the Raiser.

The seats occupied behind them seated their counterparts of the Johto region: Gold was using his billiards cue to flip the overhead air-conditioning switches. His own coal-black hair was accentuated with a pair of gold goggles, matching the color of his own mischievous amber eyes. Fun loving and opportunistic, Gold was raised to love Pokémon. His goal in life was to become Pokémon Breeder, and his skill in influencing Pokémon Eggs and young earned him the name the Hatcher.

Silver was at the adjacent seat, his embroidered handkerchief wiping his dewy skin. His redheaded countenance sighed in relief as his seatmate managed to cool the temperature setting with repeated whacks of the wooden pole. His own eyes were grey, which brightened as his years from captivity from the Mask of Ice softened with his new friends. Thoughtful and distant, Silver learned how to be sly after training as a thief. His skill in predicting correct trading combinations to benefit Pokémon described him as the Trader.

Right across the two was a younger boy, sitting beside what seemed to be a sleeping green bundle. The bundle seemed more or less awkward, considering the heat of the day, but the soft breathing rhythm mimicked Diamond's light mumble-song with the same soporific effect. Green leaned back and closed his eyes; Red sneezed. Gold looked out the window while his ward - a cooing Bonsly - sat in his lap. Silver was gently patting its rock branches; Pearl's Chatot watched his trainer fan himself with a wilting look.

The younger boy tried to stifle a yawn, his solid rose-stone eyes composedly lidded. His black hair was obscured by his "chic" hat, a red and black headband with a white cloth cap. Meticulous and gentlemanly, Ruby was the son of the Gym leader of Petalburg City, Norman. With that famous father came an undercurrent of anger - Ruby had inherited perfectionist tendencies and a temper, as well as a fierce pride and love of others. Despite being a Contest Champion, the young man was skilled in battle.

Ruby was leisurely rereading a copy of the invitation given to them a couple of weeks ago.

_Dear Pokédex Holders,_

_You are all formally invited to the 1st Annual Pokédex Summit, to be held at Hearthome City. This event is to commemorate the achievements and completion of the Pokédex project, started by the head Pokémon experts of all regions._

_Gracing the event will be Professors Oak, Elm, Birch and Rowan, as well as the Pokémon Association's Board of Directors and the presidents of the Pokémon Fan Clubs._

_You will be staying at Hearthome Motel for a week; accommodations are already prepared on your behalf. The Summit will begin officially on the first day of August, at Amity Square. We await your presence._

_Respectfully yours,_

_Lady P. Berlitz_

He noted the tight curl of words and the way each letter was written. The envelope that once contained the letter was lying on his lap, along with several other notes that were stashed away with it. Ruby examined the next slip, a powder-lilac note paper in bright glittery ink.

_Boys,_

_The girls and I are going early already and we're gonna wait for you guys. I hope you won't wander off anywhere before you all even arrive! Stay safe, and try to take plenty of pics about the sights; Love ya guys. ;)_

_Blue_

Blue was the eldest of the girl Pokédex Holders. With long chocolate-brown hair and a winsome smile, Blue was much known for her tricky and sly tactics. All the girls looked up to her usually as the big sister, with her maturity and cheerfulness. Also a Masked Child in her youth, Blue later confronted her past as a thief and found her parents once again. Armed with the intuition of the conditions needed in evolution of Pokémon, Blue was granted the honor of the Evolver.

The capped boy chuckled at his senior's bubbly charm and hovered over another slip of paper, this time a refreshing lemonade tint with particularly neat handwriting, despite the sparse content.

_See you._

_:)_

_Yellow_

Yellow was the second eldest, and was demure and innocent. Her long blond hair was usually tucked into her large straw hat; many mistook her for a boy when in disguise. Yellow was a shy soul, and very sincere; her immense crush on Red was glaring to everyone but Red. She was uniquely endowed with clairvoyance, able to heal Pokémon and empower them, as well as control Poke Balls with telekinesis, aided by string. Her special talents as a child of Viridian bestowed her upon her the title of Healer.

A girl of few words, Yellow always was to the group, Ruby mused. Another note was underneath it, in a slightly more severe handwriting but vibrant indigo ink on curlicued paper.

_Guys,_

_Our hotel reservations will be 11:30 in the morning, please don't be late! From there, we'll have lunch at the Heart's Home Cafe and (if time allows) a walk in Amity Square. The details of our stay will be explained from there. Please don't be late!_

_Crystal_

Crystal was the most knowledgeable of the girls, dubbed the Capturer because of her amazing skills at catching Pokémon. Quick-witted and hard-working, Crystal wears her indigo hair in two large ponytails. From her experience at capturing, Crystal has seen every non-legendary Pokémon in the world. Her unique style of delivering Poke Balls was kicking them, her feet being more accurate than her hands. She, Gold, and Silver had their adventures together throughout Johto.

Obviously a no-nonsense kind of girl, the boy judged by the simplicity and quickness of it. He almost hadn't noticed the last note had it not fallen from his lap. Ruby bent over his seat to pick it up and found the paper slip; it was different from the others because of its scent. Though the paper was plain, if a bit coarse, yet it smelled of honey and flowers and rain.

_Boys,_

_You're all probably on the way to Hearthome when you read this. Enjoy the ride, and let's meet up together and have fun!_

_Sapphire_

Ruby looked over every stroke of her pen, every feathery line simplistically etched. The corners of his lips curved into a quiet smile-not many see him quite so gentle at that moment. Even the dark rose eyes seemed to shine a little brighter.

"It's true, then?"

The capped boy jumped at Emerald's voice, tearing his focus from Sapphire's note. The sleeping green bundle had uncurled and revealed the young boy's golden hair, gelled in a quite strange crescent style; the effect of adding to his height by at least a foot was convincing. His sharp green eyes were as bright as the huge jewel on his forehead, accentuated by antenna-like eyebrows. The tiny hands supported his chin as he leaned on the bus seat, the fingers thoroughly swallowed by his gargantuan long sleeves. Emerald was, in entirety, very tiny for his ripe age of thirteen.

Sharp and critical, with a playful side, Emerald was the conqueror of the Battle Frontier. His green crystal became a medium that tried to control the Sky-High Pokémon Rayquaza. Emerald's specialty was to calm rampaging Pokémon by shooting seals at them containing soils of their homeland. He can determine the soil seal needed for every Pokémon: his special hand extensors and platform shoes were created by the Trick Master. His own appearance only gave an illusion of his height-hence the gelled hair and long sleeves and slacks.

"You really do like Miss Wild Child, don't you?" Emerald smirked, looking like a cat savoring a meal. He enjoyed watching his senior shake his head - the sudden pink in his cheeks told the truth. "She's cute; don't get me wrong, but rather strange." This comment elicited a shaky snort from Ruby. "That barbaric...beast girl? No wa-"

The conversation between the two was promptly interrupted by a disgusted Gold, as his tiny ward decided to relieve itself on his lap.

Chaos ensued.

* * *

"Where are they?"

Crystal frowned and tapped her wristwatch impatiently. Heart's Home Cafe was a quaint little bistro with delicious food and simple service, yet the ambience did not settle Kris' nerves.

It was already noon, and the female Pokédex Holders were waiting for their companions over lunch under the parasol tables outside. Blue sipped her iced coffee, her brown hair swept in a ponytail to ward off the heat. Yellow was quietly watching the clouds go by, her gentle dark yellow eyes drowsy in the sun. Crystal was miffed, dialing her PokeGear to call the delayed boys. Sapphire was eating pasta, her dark blue bandana barely moving in the scarce air. Platinum was looking through her Pokédex leisurely, her pale skin a blush pink in the heat.

Crystal pressed the first contact she could call in her PokeGear - Silver. She heard the line ring a couple of times before it was answered.

"Silver," she said, "where are you guys?"

"It's...er..." Silver's voice was oddly...pitched.

"What happened?"

"That Bonsly Gold has with him…um…had an accident on the bus," the redhead made an audible sound of disgust. "He's changing into another pair of shorts. Thank goodness that stuff missed me, I was next to him."

"Hee hee." Crys said dryly. "Please be aware that you guys are late."

"Sorry, we'll be right there."

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

The PokeGear clicked as the line went dead.

Blue giggled infectiously, tossing her hair back in a very Blue-sy manner. "Looks like they'll be stalled awhile, love." Yellow nodded meekly, quite amused at the news. Crystal sighed and pocketed her PokeGear. She turned to her own dish and finished her cheesecake, a little worried that her plans were not going as she had hoped. Platinum kept on shuffling through her Pokédex, pausing briefly as she read the pages. Sapphire polished off the last bit of spaghetti from her plate.

They were not without their companions as well. Chuchu, Yellow's Pikachu, ate from her own special bowl; a bright flower graced one of her pointy ears. Pich was cuddled close by, its creamy pale yellow fur fluffed up; the offspring of Pika and Chuchu, Pich was a Pichu raised most by Gold. Blue's Ditty was napping in the shade of the umbrella, its soft pink body wiggling like jelly. Crys has her Smoochum, Chumee, kissing things with its gummy lips like a curious child.

Sapphire was especially fond of these small Pokémon in spite of her "reputation", and they of her. She knew the most how to get to the level of other Pokémon's minds and hearts, having grown up around them a lot. She laughed heartily when they approached her, and spoiled them with petting when she liked.

The other girls cooed as Chumee waddled toward them, its round eyes shining. It rubbed its cheek affectionately at Crystal's leg before reaching toward the "wild one". Sapphire took a glance at Crys - as if to ask permission - and scooped the baby like Pokémon in her arms at the senior trainer's assent. The brunette laughed and played with the Smoochum's tiny pink paws, her own ocean-blue eyes sparkling.

Platinum kept her Pokédex back inside her bag and took a check at the time. It was already almost one o'clock - past lunchtime - she was sure that the boys, specially Dia, were starving. But there was at least quarter of an hour to wait.

A light bulb went off in her head.

"Miss Blue," she began respectfully, but Blue waved her lightly and replied,

"Just call me Blue, thanks."

She smiled as she said this, so Platinum took this as a note. "Blue...since the boys are running late, why not we go somewhere while we wait? The weather is quite hot, and I'm sure it would be pleasant for us to cool off."

Yellow listened to this course and looked at the brunette, who quirked an eyebrow upward in interest. "It sounds like a good idea, Blue. Let us follow Lady Platinum's plan." Platinum blushed, being addressed by her first name.

Blue laughed and polished off the rest of her drink, assent in her eyes. "So be it! Let us go somewhere else while we wait! But where can we go?"

Crystal shook her head to show she had no ideas. "Our Pokémon might disturb the peace inside the Hearthome Chapelette."

Sapphire looked at Chumee, who was beginning to sweat. "Our Pokémon should have a little shelter from this heat as well," she voiced, trying to fan the baby Pokémon. "Amity Square is definitely out."

"Yes," agreed Platinum, folding her hands in her lap. "There is a recording studio in Hearthome that I know of, and my father is friends of the proprietor. Perhaps we could go there and enjoy ourselves." The other girls brightened up, since most studios were fully air-conditioned.

"It's settled then!" Blue squealed enthusiastically. "Let us arrange for the boys' meals, and head to the studio in the meantime!"

Platinum borrowed Crystal's PokeGear and called the first number she recognized.

* * *

By great good luck, Gold's PokeGear was urine-free and Silver snatched it before anything could happen to it. He handed it to his senior Green, who felt the ringing by the palm of his hand. Gold scolded the stripling Pokémon, wagging his finger sternly at the Bonsly's always weeping face. As the offensive stain was being scrubbed off the seat, Green answered.

"Hello?"

"Excuse me...Green."

"Ah, yes, Lady Platinum." He smirked inward as Dia's deceptively sleepy face slightly perked.

"Yes...um, we are going to arrange for your meal at the restaurant we arranged. We will be waiting for you elsewhere, however."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"The heat is very uncomfortable outside, so we will be waiting at the Mirrors Recording Studio in the meantime."

"Alright."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

"Bye."

"I feel quite refreshed now," Gold laughed, returning from the back seats of the bus. He was now wearing a pair of clean white shorts, having changed his soiled black pair. "White is coolest to wear on hot days, you know." Silver just looked on balefully - his own dark jacket and gloves started to make him simmer. He reminded himself to get a cold shower when he arrived in the hotel.

"The girls said that they will wait in some recording studio while we dawdle." Green announced, settling back on his seat across Diamond and Pearl. "Said the heat was getting to them. And honestly, it's getting to us all." Everyone else agreed unanimously.

"That wouldn't be Mirrors Studio, would it?" Pearl asked curiously. He grinned as the brunette senior nodded. "Dia and I did a couple of our manzai tapings there, didn't we Dia?" he fondly remembered at Dia smiled broadly in response.

A few of the boys leaned toward them as they listened to Pearl's happy narrative, infused with Dia's slow and simple responses and side comments.

Ruby smiled and looked out the window, exhaling slowly. By chance, a Beautifly and Butterfree flew past the window: journeying toward the Eterna trees, the two butterfly Pokémon spread their lovely wings as they made their way back home. One's muted red eyes contrasted with the other's gem bright blue ones.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2: The Calm

**Chapter 2: The Calm**

Elegant notes streamed forth as Platinum ran her fingers through piano keys in a song. The other girls clapped gaily as the pretty tune came to a halt. Yellow admired the cultured young woman's composition, despite it being quite impromptu. The little soundproof song room was never so crowded.

"What shall we do now?" Blue drawled, fiddling around with a pair of drumsticks. Humming to herself, she struck both snare drums and a cymbal before flipping her drumsticks in the air with a flourish. The slender wooden poles clacked on the floor as the brunette's hand missed the catch. "Whoops!" she giggled and made a face.

Yellow tickled Chuchu's ears with her fingers. "It's not much fun if we do nothing." She gave into a rare pouty moment and sighed, having been coaxed into singing a little bit not too long ago, and laughing along in good fun.

Crystal nodded and strummed the guitar in her arms randomly. "I can't think of any more "songs" to play...my fingers are tired!" She laughed and stretched her hands out.

Blue smiled shrewdly and ticked the performances off with her fingers. "There was me...Yellow...Crystal and Platinum. All we're missing is you, Sapphire!" Ditty morphed into a huge white glove doing a thumbs-up posture.

"I'm sure it will be lovely," chirped Yellow. Chuchu and Pich squeaked in agreement.

"Sapphire can do it," cheered Platinum, sitting at the piano.

"Don't keep us waiting!" Crystal joked. Chumee mewed and blew kisses at her.

Sapphire smiled, very flattered. She was not one to just sing, as she regarded it as wishy-washy before. However she felt that she could not say no to a little merriment and accepting that she was not all stone-tough.

"All right," she admitted, her face flushed. "But I haven't sung in awhile. I'm sorry if I'll drive you guys to tears." The others laughed.

Taking a deep breath, Sapphire began to sing.

* * *

"Nothing is better than a nice meal on a sunny day." proclaimed Diamond.

Their appetites were indeed satisfied by their late lunch, and now they were helping themselves to desserts. Banana splits, sundaes, and parfaits were sitting on the table in their glasses. Fresh fruits and ice cream were eaten in healthy amounts. Numerous smaller Pokémon fed on chilled Pokémon berries and treats beside their trainers' tables.

"I agree," nodded Red, helping himself to a chunk of banana smothered in cream. He and Green were sharing a huge banana split in a glass boat, with Diamond and Pearl. Green said nothing, but the look of content was there as he licked his lips clean of vanilla.

"There was a recording studio we should go to after this, is that right?" Gold burped, his mouth smothered in syrup. Silver coughed discreetly at his friend's manners, spooning ice cream from his own sundae. The others laughed.

"Yes, Gold." Ruby daintily ate a cherry from the top of his parfait. "We should head over there when we're finished." His tissue flew back and forth to dab at his lips every once in a while-of the group, he was the most rigid in table manners.

"Do you guys want to play around there? A recording studio must have instruments," mused Gold. "I took piano when I was a kid, but I learned how to use turntables because I wanted to be a DJ at Goldenrod." He fondly recalled meeting his idol, DJ Mary, there once. "Who here knows guitar?"

Two had their hands raised - Green and Ruby. Dia, who looked quite embarrassed when he confessed he had singing lessons at his mother's urging.

"Hey, at least we won't come out the studio with our ears bleeding." joked Gold.

"Not necessarily," interrupted Pearl. "The girls might be tone-deaf, for all we know."

"Blue sings nicely." Silver said. "I hear her sometimes in the bathroom."

"Well, I bet The Lady would try," Pearl said defensively, referring to Platinum, "even if she couldn't do it, so watch out."

"I dread...what will Miss Wild Child do there?"

Everyone else looked around toward Emerald and Ruby.

"Honestly," Ruby said, "I haven't heard her yet, and I fear the day I do."

"Maybe she has an okay voice," offered Dia. "Or good at playing some instrument."

There was a deafening quiet, save for a stray breeze afloat in the air.

Gold took this in stride: "I bet all of you 20000 Poké that Sapphire has a gorgeous voice!"

There was silence.

Then Red spoke, cautiously. "...This is just a joke, right?"

It was true that Gold was quite wealthy, wealthy enough to plate his Pokéballs with a layer of gold...but this was his gambling nature rearing its head. He did have his mischievous face on, eyes shining with confidence. He cockily flicked his goggles with one of his fingers.

"All of you doubt, I see," the Hatcher replied. "I simply am sure of my opinion!"

"...Fine!" shouted Emerald in conviction. "I bet that she does NOT have a gorgeous voice!"

There was even more silence.

"Ohohohohohoho..." sniggered Gold. "And what will your wager be, my little buddy?" He was standing, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

Emerald firmly thrust his hand into one of his deep pockets, got a huge bottle of sticky substance and set it on the table, standing up as well in his platform shoes. "My entire bottle of hair gel right here!" he said proudly, giving the container a tap with his glove.

More silence.

"You're on!" Gold grinned wide enough to put a Croagunk to shame.

Sapphire's voice better be average to break this bet even.

* * *

Even from outside the booth Blue got the chills. Inside the booth was a voice so...strange...that the senior girl had to pinch herself.

Platinum was trembling, her eyes wide. Chuchu and Pich were suddenly quiet, ears pricked up. Ditty and Chumee were silent, watching.

Crystal seemed breathless-her own skin skittered at every note.

Sapphire lost herself when she sang. Her eyes were closed, face flushed and breathing hard before every line. Her strange accent softened as she sang, and her rough tones seemed different with the style she used. It was simple, and unrefined, and from the heart.

Beyond that sound booth not a single thing stirred. They too were under that silencing spell.

No one said a word when Yellow's face crumpled with emotion.

* * *

"Here we are!" Pearl said most cheerily, pointing at a modest building at the center of Hearthome.

It was a uniformly brick-red place, a bit shabby but clean. A nicely polished sign reading 'Mirrors Recording Studio' was to the left of its humble entrance. A few berry plants and trees hid it partially from view.

The other boys followed Pearl's gait steadily, with sleepy Dia trailing behind once again. Alongside the boys were their Pokémon companions - Beh, Chatlord, Pika and Bonsly.

"Hurry up," their blond guide called, his bright orange shirt standing bright in the sun. "The heat'll fry you like eggs!" He was already arranging for their group by the time everyone else poured into the lobby.

"What do you think about this canny wager, Green?" Red whistled low as he asked his rival and friend. He ran his fingers through his messy black hair, crimson eyes bright and questioning. "Seems a bit too hazy to make any good bets, eh?" The boys waited at the sofas and couches of the lobby as Pearl and Diamond asked for Platinum's recording room.

Green nodded, his sharp features curious as well. "Gold seems to be getting himself in a load of trouble today. Still, I am quite interested in this turn of events. Who knows what Sapphire has to offer?" A gentle smirk graced his cool face. "She did idolize you during your early Champion days, and it drove her to become a 'beastly girl'."

Red sputtered and laughed, flattered. "I wouldn't say 'beastly'. Sapphire is a strong-willed girl. It was her own volition to become a Gym challenger, you know. And she did succeed on her own terms. Like that 80-day challenge with Ruby."

"True," said Green. "Her rival is quite...questionable, though. Gym challenges and Contest challenges don't offer the same caliber."

"Ruby is a strong trainer, of course." The Champion suddenly became quiet, analytical even. "He has this kind of...brutality..."

"...Oh, really."

Red nodded, gazing toward Ruby. The young trainer was sitting primly, exuding an elegance bred from his nature. His hands were busy with a needle and thread, sewing a bit of fabric into a clothing item. Silver and Emerald watched, flanking his sides. A little trickle of discussion was amongst them.

"Don't you use a thimble, Ruby?" the red-maned boy asked, watching the tiny metal pin flash between threads.

"Not much, Silver." the capped boy replied, counting his stitches carefully.

"Don't you hurt yourself with that thing?" Emerald inquired, eyeing his bare hand.

Ruby smiled. "Yes, but I guess my fingers are used to it."

He stuck his needle on a rough spot on his finger as an example: Emerald jumped a little. Ruby drew the needle back, showing no wound from his digit. "See?" He continued sewing his little cloth scrap. "Some of the skin has become thick - oh..."

The little blonde boy winced as Ruby accidentally pricked his finger and blood dropped onto his lap.

"Yes," the Champion reaffirmed. "Have you ever seen him angry? I mean, really angry."

"When we confronted Archie last time at the Frontier, yes. We all were." Green replied pointedly.

"Look at his Pokémon!" Red urged. "That kind of battling prowess isn't for Contests. He _has_ to be near-demonic in battle."

"Still, he is the son of Norman, an excellent strategist." the Gym Leader cut in. "His temper should not get the best of him with his training. Otherwise he is nothing short of mannered, if a little haughty."

The brunette paused, and unearthed a sarcastic gasp - almost melodramatic in tone. "Don't tell me - you're _worried_ about being replaced?"

Red stuck out his tongue, and punched Green on the arm. "Hey, I'm not _that_ egotistical to cling onto that! I have this feeling that Ruby is more fearsome than he lets on. I mean, it's just a feeling..."

Red and Green were broken from their conversation when Gold came running, pale-faced and exhilarated. His soot-colored hair was in wild disarray, arms and legs flying. Alarmed, the other trainers immediately got to their feet at his giddy words:

"Guys - Platinum's recording room - hear - NOW!"

* * *

Sapphire was very much surprised when her song was met with glassy eyes.

"Yellow!" She stumbled away from the microphone and readied herself to pour out a dozen apologies.

"W-what happened, Yellow? I'm so sorry if it was me, I-"

The young blonde woman shook her head, a shaky smile emerging from her delicate face. "N-no, Sapphire, nothing like that." She seemed embarrassed at her outburst of emotion. "Your song was...beautiful."

The brunette girl blinked. Beautiful? She looked around the room for confirmation.

Blue was gushing on and on about her voice. Words of praise streamed from her mouth as the senior squeezed Sapphire in her arms.

Crystal seemed breathless, unable to say anything other than "...Wow!" She seemed unusually giddy, and that was strange for her.

Platinum was silent, too awestruck to move: her shining eyes were enough.

"R-really?" the wild child stammered, mouth agape. Her unrefined speaking style re-emerged, and the "angel" became a fallible mortal again. Her cheeks turned a shade of tomato red. "I-I never knew I could...I mean, I used to sing like this as a little girl..." Her chest was heaving from the song - her heart seemed to take flight with every note. "But…I didn't know it was that big a deal!"

Blue looked at her junior with great pride."You have been given a wonderful talent. Don't let it waste away!" She sniggered at Sapphire's pleased but confused face, thinking of something great.

"Oh, I wonder how the boys will react to our "wild girl" now'?" Blue smiled saucily alongside her as the other three girls giggled.

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

"AHA!" Gold's triumphant face appeared, his index finger high toward the ceiling in victory. "I win! Take that, you shrimp! Hand over the hair gel and let's see your hair down!"

His manic face was alight with the glow Crystal knew all too well - the joy of gambling. His victory pose beyond the doorway gave the girls a shock and something to stare at.

Beyond the door was Emerald, his eyes wide and jaw slack. His hand extensors were trembling as Gold proceeded to perform a silly jig. His bright eyes were transfixed on Sapphire, who promptly reddened. With the other boys behind him, he raised a shaking hand extensor toward the brunette trainer.

"Y-you...!" His words were broken, lips speechless.

Green and Silver were able to push Emerald to the side for the others to pass; the small recording room was becoming very crowded. As everyone looked for a seat, Ruby laced his fingers together and watched Sapphire pointedly.

She was acting strangely meek now - her usual bravado and fire was somewhat dimmed. She tried to sit down somewhere, to disappear from view. However (to her dismay) there were no chairs left; she merely shrugged and sat on the carpeted floor.

A few awkward empty beats later, Yellow coughed. Everyone laughed.

* * *

"Those singing lessons really paid off, Dia my man!"

Diamond flushed, looking mollified but pleased. His turn after the spin-a-bottle proved to be a crowd-pleaser. Gold went so far as to comically stamp and whistle with his fingers. Pearl was mightily impressed with his talented best friend.

It was late afternoon now, and the midday heat cooled slightly. The sign of Amity Square loomed overhead, its bright colors enticing to passers-by. Their walk toward the Summit was a little hurried, in case they might be late.

The sleepy-eyed trainer beamed, walking along in his Persian-easy gait. "Thanks," he said, and made a funny mock-curtsy as the others laughed. "I am surprised by all of this, myself." His Munchlax hopped along behind him, nodding along.

The babble continued into topics: what dishes would be for dinner, who would be at the Summit, and what would be discussed.

"You know, I wasn't able to hear Sapphire sing." Dia whispered to his companion, looking cautiously behind him as the other junior trainers trailed behind them. Gold continued to rub his winnings in Emerald's face, playing around with his own black hair with gel. Emerald was stumbling along, unable to get over his loss...and looking miserably embarrassed.

Pearl thought for a moment before replying: "Yes, that makes it even more curious! But not now, we have a summit to attend." He jutted his chin toward the entrance and slipped his hands into his pockets. His pale orange eyes saw the heavy graying rainclouds and flash of lightning.

"We'd better hurry, it looks like rain."

* * *

There was a rumble at the beginning...no, a kind of stirring from within the waters of the ocean...

The scaly body writhed and thrashed about with agony as the Pokémon felt a harsh, acid sensation ripping its body. The waves churned into whirlpools at the sheer power of its thrashing movements. Other water Pokémon swam away from the terrible power. A mark, it all started with a mark...

The Pokémon tried crashing itself into rocks, even biting itself to numb the skin. Rough scars and gouges did nothing to dim the ominous crimson glow of its pain drove it out of its mind; a relief, yes a relief was possible! The Pokémon fought to keep its senses - the goal seemed to be in a human dwelling not far from the area.

Fangs snapping, the creature burst out of the water in a spray of saltwater. Into the darkening skies it sprang, rippling itself like a snake Pokémon winding through water. The scent of soothing prey rang clear in the air.

_Yes_, it called like a lure. _There is prey for you...yes, hunt for it and you will be healed!_

Wild Wingull flew off, away from the maddened Pokémon and squawking when they saw the glowing red marks of circles and lines-the marks of the ocean ruler's wrath. The other sea creatures cried and swam away, sensing a sudden danger.

With a horrible bellow, the possessed creature flew off to the northwest. The chapelette roofs were just in sight.

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3: The Storm

_A/N: Sorry for the late submission. I found it hard for me to write action scenes effectively. Hope you enjoy it. :)_

**Chapter 3: The Storm**

"Hmmm...The kids seem to be a tad late..."

Professor Rowan tapped his wristwatch and looked at the heavy sky, which seemed to get ready to rain.

The four Pokémon authorities were observing the other Trainers taking their Pokémon out for a walk. Professors Elm and Birch were chatting nearby about the sights they've seen in Sinnoh, and their interests in. There were other guests there as well-the Pokémon Box developers, several Gym Leaders from each region, and the Champions: Steven, Wallace and Cynthia.

"They'll be here, Professor." Cynthia tried to reassure Rowan. The Sinnoh Champion was elegant, with a loping grace and long corn silk hair. The Professor being a Champion himself some time ago, Cynthia was acquainted to his personal nuances. His stern white-haired countenance was gruff but reasonable; his whole personality was of a detached pride.

The storm-grey eyes squinted as a flash of lightning lit up the dark skies. "Professor," Cynthia said, "perhaps we must move away from here presently. The weather doesn't seem to be good for an outdoor meeting." She pointed towards the entrances to Amity Square. "Maybe we should move to a building, in case of this strange weather."

* * *

"GYAWAAAAAAR!"

Emerald looked up to see a serpentine shadow winding its way from the southeast of Hearthome. Against the ominous weather it seemed to shimmer with an unusual aura. From the trailing whiskers and strangled roar, the blond boy surmised that the Pokémon was indeed, a Gyarados - a strangely large one.

Some of the other Pokédex holders noticed this too, its bellow being so loud and vicious. To Emerald's surprise, Yellow noticeably shivered and ran after the beast, calling on the others to catch up. Something was wrong, terribly wrong...but he just couldn't pinpoint the reason to his gut feeling.

"GYARAAAAA!"

The ravaging Pokémon screeched again, teeth snapping like razorblades. To the Pokédex holders' horror, the Gyarados winded itself directly above Amity Square and nose-dived to the ground below.

"NO!" Red roared, taking out a Pokéball. While the other trainers followed suit, the Kanto Champion was already in the air atop his Aerodactyl at speed. Below him was Yellow on her Dodrio, already forewarned by her powers

"We have to stop that Gyarados from rampaging Amity Square!" she screamed. "There's a dark presence on that Pokémon!"

* * *

"Professor!"

Cynthia pushed Rowan away as a giant draconian head crashed into the dirt. The other trainers were alert, drawing their Pokéballs at the ready. Misty called out her Starmie, Blaine his Rapidash. Morty called out his Haunter and Clair called out Dragonair. Winona was already riding on her Altaria, and Juan was close at hand with his Kingdra. Fantina had her Driftblim lift her safely into the air while Byron and his Bastiodon withstood the shockwave of the Gyarados' impact.

The fierce creature, unfazed by its crash landing, let out an ear-splitting shriek before executing its Thrash attack. The one peaceful Square was being torn up, dirt and grass flying around.

The other Pokémon trainers and their beloved pets fled: some of the other Gym Leaders helped send them to safer ground. The Pokémon Professors took cover with Byron and braced themselves.

"Let's get you somewhere safe first, Professors!" the rugged Gym Leader called, directing his Bastiodon to put up its Iron Defense. The four scholarly men took cover as the Gyarados continued shrieking and biting at the Gym Leaders and Champions. It swatted at Winona and Fantina in the air like bug Pokémon with its tail.

At the other end of Amity Square, Steven and Wallace protected the Pokémon Box developers-brunet Bill, pale-haired Celio, sisters Lanette and Brigette, and sporty Babes. The former and current Hoenn Champions tried to reflect and block the incoming debris, Metagross with its Bullet Punch and Whiscash with its Headbutt.

"Hurry!"

Wallace looked up in the sky to see several Pokémon soaring across the iron clouds, their bodies silhouetted by a flash of lightning. One by one, the Pokédex trainers poured into the Square from the sky and entrances. As they rushed into the grassy field, the Gyarados began to charge its body at a group emerging from the front entrance: Silver, Crystal, Pearl and Yellow.

Crystal was quick to react, and ordered Vine Whip from her Meganium to restrain it. The Pokémon barely flinched and simply shrugged off the attack, continuing to ram itself toward the group. Pearl and Yellow dodged the attack on their Infernape and Dodrio respectively. Crystal screamed as its jaws came in a rush toward her, knocking her Meganium aside.

"Feraligatr, grab hold of it!"

The giant crocodile Pokémon came forward, grabbing the Gyarados' head with its claws and holding its ground. Silver ran behind Feraligatr, dragging Crystal with him and ordering an Ice Beam attack. The icy blast hit the serpentine Pokémon between the eyes, but it merely blinked and roared. A paralyzing Dragon Breath stunned Feraligatr's muscles, and a strong ram of its head shoved it aside. The crocodile Pokémon snarled as it hit the rocky wall.

Emerald was already prepared, soil-gun in hand extensor. Yellow called out her Butterfree and grabbed the young boy's shoulders firmly. "Kitty, take us above the Gyarados!" The butterfly Pokémon hoisted both trainers up into the air, giving the illusion of the Viridian trainer suddenly sprouting wings and taking flight. They rose several meters above ground, fluttering about in the dangerously stormy weather.

At the other side of the Square, directly opposite the others, were several of the other Pokédex holders. Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond and Platinum were helping the Pokémon Box developers to escape the Square.

"Lady Platinum," Diamond said carefully, "please get the others out with you!" The heiress nodded and blocked the entrance with her Rapidash, allowing the others to escape.

"Ruby," Dia muttered, tone suddenly sharp. "Something is agitating that Gyarados, like it's looking for something. Please be careful with it - it seems to be searching hard for something."

Indeed the Gyarados was sniffing the air, circling the area with a fervent hunger. Its expression was crazed, as if bothered by a great presence and seeking it out.

"I see," Ruby murmured. "But what is it looking for...?"

Quickly, he called out his Mightyena. "Nana, search the area with Odor Sleuth. Perhaps if we find its target, we can lure the Pokémon out of the square."

* * *

_All these humans, all these Pokémon...confusing..._

Wait! The trail was still alive, electric in the air. The Gyarados roared in relief, sensing its target a few meters away.

_There!_

Without a second's hesitation, the Gyarados reared and bolted toward the target.

* * *

The Battle Frontier challenger took aim at the area below the Gyarados' rampaging trail, soil-gun carefully pointed at the spot. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the trigger.

The soil seal darted past and planted itself at the ground. To his horror, the seal made no effect. He looked up at Yellow gripping his shoulders, and blanched.

"It...it didn't work!"

Everyone heard a shriek as the Gyarados dove headfirst into the ground, crushing anything that may have been under its trajectory.

Professor Birch saw it before anyone else, and all eyes drew toward that spot as he roared.

"SAPPHIRE!"

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4: The Signs

_A/N: Wow, I was in a good writing mood! Hooray! :) I hope the whole plot wasn't given away too fast. Please enjoy!_

**Chapter 4: The Signs**

"GYARAOO!"

The great serpent roared as its head was blown back by a powerful attack. A blue-clad figure was launched upward, and from the rubble was a humanoid-shaped Pokémon, fists blazing with a scorching flame.

"There!"

Professor Birch's frantic eyes locked onto a girl in the air. He recognized the flying blue bandanna and sighed in exasperated relief. "Thank goodness..."

Blaziken's Fire Punch was just enough to send the Gyarados reeling momentarily from the shock. In a moment, Sapphire must have commanded her partner to throw her upward so the attack could be executed properly.

Sapphire grinned, eyes shining. "One shot, one hit! Sky Uppercut!"

Toro cried, feathers raised and shot up itself on its strong legs. Its fist rose up and connected to the Gyarados' stunned jaw with a crash. The draconian head roared and fell backward, long body stretching out as it was knocked down. With great timing, Sapphire landed in her Blaziken's arms with a whoop, like it was all well.

"Hurry!" Dia called to his Torterra. "Knock it out with our special-mach-one-and-only-Razor Leaf!"

Roo roared and shot out a single knife-sharp leaf from its shell-tree branches, flying at a blinding speed and hitting the Gyarados at its face. The dragon-like Pokémon hissed –the grass attack aggravated it greatly, and the beast shot its Ice Beam attack at the land turtle Pokémon, freezing its feet in place. Roo tried breaking free of the ice on its legs, but couldn't move a muscle. "Grroooa..." it grunted with clenched jaws, feeling its toes splinter in pain.

Pearl was nearby on his Infernape's shoulders, hurling a Flamethrower attack at the frozen feet of the Torterra. Quickly the ice began to melt and give way. "Hurry, before the Gyarados decides to come back!"

Meanwhile the Gyarados turned itself to Blue and launched a Hydro Pump, countered by her own Blastoise's Withdraw. Red and Green swooped in from the air on their Aerodactyl and Charizard respectively.

"Combine the attack!" the brunettete snapped, sharply focusing at his black-haired rival, who gave a thumbs-up signal. Green angled his Pokémon respective to Red and commanded.

"Flamethrower, Charizard!"

"Aero, use your Wing Attack!"

The two attacks merged and formed a speeding beam of red-hot fire. The beam focused on one point and slammed into the Gyarados' midsection, draining the Gyarados of its remaining strength. Even in its weak state, it took a look long and hard at Sapphire and gave a strangled growl.

Ruby caught up with the tomboyish girl and caught the serpentine Pokémon. Rushing Sapphire to get herself away lest she do something risky again, the capped trainer made sure no one was close before giving the severely weakened Gyarados a murderous look. The Pokémon promptly stopped growling and froze its movements.

"And now, the Pokéball!" Red said with a flourish, dismounting his Aerodactyl. He jogged closer and flicked a Pokéball in the beast's direction, waiting as it disappeared within the plastic sphere and locked in with a click.

"Whew..." Red sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "That was unexpected. Is anybody seriously hurt?" He picked up the Pokéball and looked carefully at the Gyarados inside, who seemed to be calm and unconscious. Its scales shone through the plastic, lit by the sun breaking past the dark clouds.

"No one," Yellow replied, settling Emerald down on the ground. She stared at the jagged blue crack of sky peeking through the clouds, spreading out like wings. Already the storm seemed to be dispersing before it began. "But I think we should meet up elsewhere."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Professor Oak began. "Good evening and welcome to the first Annual Pokédex Summit."

Fantina was kind enough to find a large vacant room in the Contest Hall, and so the Pokédex Holders were seated in a ring around a huge circular glass table. The other guests occupied two smaller tables flanking the Pokédex Holders' table, also seated in a circle.

Professor Oak himself was at the front of the audience, in front of a large video monitor. His aged grey-brown hair and smile lines made no difference to this cheerful man-he was the Pokémon authority after all. His colleagues were standing to the side of the monitor. Professors Elm and Birch were wearing long white lab coats, as was Professor Oak. For the most senior of them, Professor Rowan favored a dark brown coat.

Professor Oak was gesturing at the large monitor behind him, which was turned on to reveal a split-view of the four major regions: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. On each area were large blue blips that signaled something. A location?

Oak turned toward the other Pokédex Holders with a satisfied smile. "Since the beginning of this project, I have had confidence in all of you to do the duty entrusted to you. I am very proud in saying that you have succeeded. Not only have you made major advances to the Pokédex Project, you have also averted disaster after disaster in your respective regions."

He came forward bearing a metal tray. "Upgrades to your Pokédexes have been created, and a few days is needed to activate them - we must collect them and return them later on." Many red plastic devices were piled inside as the tray was passed around the table. Professor Elm took back the tray and placed it at a side table. Enthusiastic and jolly, Professor Elm was a good-hearted bespectacled man with a body lean as a stalk of wheat.

Professor Oak's face turned serious as he faced the trainers, and now everyone was focused solely on his words. "However...there is a new threat. Not merely situated in any region, mind you...but everywhere."

He gestured toward the first portion, the Kanto map, and pointed to a cluster of islands at the south. "Now, does anyone know where this is?"

"That's Seafoam Islands." Green answered, fingers weaved together and elbows on the table.

"Correct," Oak agreed. "He pointed at another spot, this time at Johto. "And where is this?"

"The Lake of Rage," piped up Gold. "Where Silver's red Gyarados came from."

"Right," Oak nodded again. "And this?" He pointed at the east sea of Hoenn, then to the southern shores of Sinnoh.

"Near Sootopolis." Emerald murmured, thinking. "And...the beach near Pastoria..."

"And what do most of these areas have in common?"

A long moment of silence, where the air became heavy. After that prolonged minute, Platinum whispered, awed. "I've heard of it...those are where the region's legendary Pokémon frequently appear."

"Correct," Professor Elm spoke up, stepping beside Oak. He pointed at the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn maps. "The Seafoam Islands are the residence of Articuno; Suicune roams, but there have been sightings of it frequenting the Lake of Rage. That Deep Sea Cavern is where Kyogre lives."

Professor Birch stepped in, holding a clipboard in hand. A bit stocky but genial and adventurous, Sapphire's father preferred fieldwork to being inside the lab. "These areas are noted to have increased activity of water Pokémon. Whirlpools, big waves, mass emigrations...these behavioral patterns signify a great movement of Pokémon. They seem to be searching for something, as these patterns resemble hunting parties or such. Some cases of Pokémon exhibiting strange behaviors such as irritability and aggression have also been reported."

He motioned toward the video monitor, which changed to show two larger maps of two different regions, and several markers near bodies of water. "Even the regions that use Pokémon Rangers instead, Fiore and Almia, have noted this unusual activity. Wild water Pokémon are becoming restless and searching for something - except for Sinnoh originally, until just a while ago...that Gyarados that went berserk seems to have come from that Pastoria area."

Professor Rowan took his turn and positioned himself with his colleagues. The video monitor now showed graphs and charts similar to Hoenn's Weather Institute research.

He gestured at the graph, speaking in his gruff tone. "With this abnormal activity, the weather phenomena have changed considerably around us. More and more abrupt storms and heavier rainfall has been observed everywhere. It seems that there is an imbalance of nature occurring to the world." Rowan cleared his throat, making sure that all was taking note of his words. "What we can do for now is to monitor the situation and try to investigate the cause as carefully as possible."

Professor Elm nodded and looks to the table where the tray of Pokédexes was resting on. The wild Gyarados' Poke Ball was there as well, the creature inside still out cold. "We will have to examine the wild Gyarados to see if we can gain any knowledge of the cause to its wild behavior. Later on, we will have to keep it in captivity for a while lest it goes berserk again."

* * *

"Hnurr..." The Gyarados was groggy from its daze. _What happened?_

A bright light was overhead, and many humans surrounded it. Most of them were wearing a material the color of clouds - their hair was as bright as ripe Pecha berries. Several squeaks of other creatures alerted it to their presence. Pink, egg-shaped and matronly, Chansey were waddling around assisting the nurses.

"Will it be okay?"

A petite blonde girl hovered carefully around the examination table, straw hat in her hands. Behind her were the other Pokédex holders, watching a careful distance away from the serpentine Pokémon.

Yellow was concerned and swept over to the Gyarados' large head, hands touching the cold tabletop.

A nurse toddled over to Yellow's side, cotton-candy hair tied in unique loops. She bowed her head a little and gestured at the Gyarados. "He'll be just fine, miss. Just a little rest would be enough, I'm sure all that thrashing has tired him out."

Yellow smiled and looked at the Gyarados as well. Her green eyes was sending a message to him, the Pokémon could feel it. Like a small voice in his head, speaking in his language.

_Will you let me know what happened to you?_

The girl bent down and reemerged with a sketch pad and pencil in hand. She watched carefully at the vacant, questioning eyes of the snake-like beast. It was curious, wondering. She could see it was pliant enough to listen to her request. As if by reflex, it bowed its head. Yellow lowered her left hand onto its bony crest, right hand on sketch pad...

* * *

_Instantly, there was a deep blue color, like ripples of water. Yellow felt her hand automatically make squiggles on the paper to mimic her vision._

_In her head, she could see three dots to her left field. They were shaped like feathers, shining in dazzling blue and red and yellow. They circled in a slow, eternal cycle._

_Another three dots appeared. Like silky manes, these wavy strokes shone red, yellow and blue as well. They appeared to her right and moved in a spiral._

_Three more dots appeared, this time below the feather symbols. They were tooth-shaped, and shone in red, blue and green. They moved in a pyramid shape, the green dot at the top, shifting place to the blue, then to the red._

_The last set of dots dissolved into view below the wavy strokes. Instead of three, however, there were two. Red and green. They pulsed erratically like confused insect Pokémon._

_In an instant, the whole scene melted into black, and light shone out into blankness. Yellow hurriedly flipped the page of her sketch pad._

_A curve of water appeared, the wave forming itself into that of a protective layer. And within it, a bright jewel-blue egg._

_The egg had a heart of scarlet, a shining ruby orb that beat of life. It squirmed a little, until the water around it formed into a distinct feminine shape._

_Yellow spotted the blue shapes appear, closing in on the egg with speed. The feather, fang and wave shapes were humming and encircling the water body: glowing blue and bright..._

_The ocean blue fang now grew larger in view, and the scenery changed. The psychic trainer felt herself fly suddenly to an ocean, and somehow she knew it was Hoenn, without really knowing how she knew it. Her body dove into the vision, water enclosing her periphery as she spotted a lone male Gyarados. The Gyarados that was sharing its vision with her._

_The fang shape made a call that echoed through the sea, affecting the Pokémon. A sharp roar of pain agitated the Gyarados, and something burned on its forehead like fire. A ring of red, with three straight lines stemming from it in a familiar beast's sign._

_The scenes after that were melted in a quick blur: the migration from Hoenn, the frequent bouts of madness...but most of all, that craving hunger always returned. No prey could satisfy that desire, that tempting trail that burned bright like a signal flare. _

_From Gyarados' eyes, the girl saw its arrival at Sinnoh, its fit of insanity, and its hunting trail leading it to them...to something...or someone._

Yellow heard herself gasp and her eyes flew open. To her surprise, it was already night.

"The Professors-!"

She had to get this information to them fast. Something big was coming...and fast.

* * *

While most of the Pokédex Trainers were asleep that night, one of them was wide awake.

Sapphire was sitting straight up, clutching her arm. A sudden bursting pain began spasming up her arm, and she had been awake ever since. No injuries from the Gyarados affair, nothing...but what?

"Hah...!"

She gasped, feeling her arm as if it split in half from the inside. Such agony coursing through her nerves! Sapphire looked toward the fat moon outside, restless. It reminded her of the Hoenn incident, and she recalled the feeling of pain with clarity.

Perhaps she could distract herself from the pain by counting the stars. The night air was sharply cold, frosty even. A light drizzle was falling outside. A sharp contrast to the previously hot weather that day, now that the girl thought about it.

Sapphire squinted a little, her eyes detecting a Pokémon-like outline through the darkness. A flowing wave of periwinkle blue fur...and over there, a dazzling silver-blue streak of feathers...what?

Her face was confused, then a sudden dawn of intuition grasped her thoughts. From that stream of confused thoughts, a sudden gut feeling rang out like a bell in her mind.

_They want me._

The wild trainer couldn't even make a sound as a chilly, wet whirlwind suddenly entered the open window and swept her away into the black oblivion.

**TBC...**

_Another A/N: Oh yeah...The all-important disclaimer._

**POKEMON SPECIAL DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. IT BELONGS TO A REALLY CLEVER GUY NAMED Hidenori Kusaka, WHO RIGHTFULLY THOUGHT OF THIS FOR US PEOPLE WHO TIRE A LITTLE OF THE USUAL TELEVISION SERIES. **

**Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, CREATURES, GAME FREAK, TV Tokyo, ShoPro, JR Kikaku...er...yeah.**

_Another Other A/N: Thanks much to Pokexpress for the heads-up on the disclaimer, Yukira Hakumei for the feedback and Pokexpress, Yukira and Latias 24 for the love for the story. Thanks a lot! :)_


	5. Chapter 5: The Awakening

_A/N: With the release of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the DS coming soon, the Pokémon Adventures/Special manga may introduce a new character to correspond to the new female character in HG/SS-tentatively named "Soul". Unless Crystal decides to adopt new clothes and dye her hair brown, which I doubt. :o_

_If - or rather, when - Manaphy gets introduced in Pokémon Special (pretty soon, I think), this fanfic will look really strange. :) Ah, well. Just a warning, is all. If it clashes with the PokeSpe storyline, never mind it. This was made pre-Manaphy._

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the idea of this story.**

**Chapter 5: The Awakening**

Blue immediately sat up from her bed.

The sharp gust of wind made an abnormal rattle at the girls' room's windowpane. The oldest girl stretched and yawned, climbing down from the top bunk of the bed. Between the two bunk beds was a soft mattress where Yellow could have slept in. Strangely enough, the young clairvoyant girl was not there. Probably late.

The brunette young lady was about to firmly close the window until her dark blue eyes detected something hanging from the ledge. She looked quickly at the top bunk bed across her.

Emptiness.

Crystal and Platinum were jolted awake by a loud sound outside the door.

* * *

It was night, and Professor Rowan was one of the last to fall asleep.

A habitual night owl, Rowan found himself looking out of the window, stroking his white-whiskered chin at the strange weather-cold and windy. "How odd," he murmured to himself, fixing his robe and going outside to make some hot drink. Coffee would probably only wake him even more, so he settled to a nice cup of cocoa instead...just the thing for chilly nights like this.

His slippered feet shuffled into the Pokémon Center's kitchen and fixed himself some hot cocoa. With certain care he was warming the milk in a saucepan for a little bit when Yellow barged in, chest.

"PROFESSOR!" the girl cried. Rowan turned and became alert, turning off the stove quickly as hurried words rushed over to his ears...

* * *

Sapphire had never felt anything so bizarre.

Her body seemed to fly through the starry sky, yet she was sure that a whirlwind of rain and air carried her over the treetops and buildings. No one had noticed her figure sailing through - they were all asleep. Her skin froze with the cold - part of her pajama sleeve must have been torn off.

Quickly the scenery shifted from leaves and branches to sand and spray, then to seawater. Sapphire's eyes widened as she felt herself suddenly drop into the brine.

"Gah...!" she screamed, expecting salinity to flood her throat. Her lungs strangely found air, and her body once again was swept, this time by an ocean current, into a stone cavern underwater. She felt herself emerge and find the cold cave floor to much relief. Soaked to the bone and thoroughly confused, she asked no one in particular with a yelp.

"What's going on?"

As soon as those words left the girl's lips two creatures emerged from the sea entrance. One was a silver-white phoenix Pokémon, with feathers of ice and snow. With a proud turn of its head it looked steadily into the face of the female Trainer before speaking with its mind.

_I am Articuno, the Legendary Bird of Ice._

The other was a lupine shape, with a flowing purple mane like water waves. Upon its blue fur was a pure aura of clean air. It stood strong and serene, motionless on its fleet feet.

_I am Suicune_, it spoke too with its mind, _the Legendary Beast of the Northern Wind._

A rumble of water erupted from the center of the cavern, and in the deep saltwater pool emerged a large whale-shaped creature, with burning red marks and eyes. It too looked at Sapphire before speaking.

_I am Kyogre, Lord of the Sea. But I believe _- the beast looked more carefully - _that you know that. You are endowed with my presence, my power._

Sapphire couldn't take it anymore; her curiosity and confusion boggled. "Why have I been taken here? What is going on?" Her arms protectively hugged her knees close to her chest as she waited for an answer, an explanation. Her eyes burned - she was not afraid.

"I thought that crisis - back in Hoenn - was over. Why are you all here?"

* * *

"And this drawing is connected somehow to the imbalance?"

The Pokédex holders were awake, alerted by the sudden commotion, and were now seated around the dining table. The professors were all there, and Professor Birch was particularly shaken at his daughter's absence. He seemed paler than ever under the fluorescent light of the kitchen.

Yellow set her sketchpad on the wooden dining table, flipping through the pages until she reached her drawings of Gyarados' visions. "I was able to see these, sir."

She pointed at the first page: symbols arranged in triads floated on the paper. The second page was of a strange egg shape wrapped in what seemed to be water. The third page was obscured by the first two pages.

Professor Oak looked over her sketchbook, murmuring under his breath. "Why, these look like feathers. Red, blue, yellow...could these pertain perhaps to the Legendary Birds of Kanto?" His thoughts lingered to the other marks. "Why, these are trios as well! One could be of the Legendary Beasts of Johto, and these tooth shapes are definitely the Legendary Rulers of Hoenn." Others echoed this recognition as they too saw this.

"But that can't be right, Professor," Platinum said, hands folded in her lap. "Indeed, Sinnoh has a trio as well, but that only of the Legendary Beings of the Lakes - Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf. Here in the drawing," - she pointed out two other symbols - "there are but two symbols."

Everyone thought hard, silence hung heavy.

Professor Rowan continued on gruffly. "Let's look at this next picture." He gestured toward the strange egg-shape, with a bright red dot in its center. "This seems to be a bit more curious... These blue wave marks suggest an aquatic surrounding."

The Pokédex holders leaned in closer, examining it. Gold whistled. "Well, it's surely no egg I've ever seen before." Even in the night, he was curiously holding his billiard cue, which he rapped on the floor whenever he felt the need. "And what's that?" He traced the watery layer enveloping the egg with a finger.

Yellow, exhausted from her work, took notice of the sudden change.

"Hey, where's Sapphire?"

The air became tenser, and certain eyes fell upon Blue, who cleared her throat. "We...don't know...I thought that perhaps she went out for a bit of air, but I found this on the windowsill."

She held up a wet piece of thin cloth, seemingly torn. It was a light blue, the same color as Sapphire's pajamas.

The clairvoyant looked at the cloth carefully and smelled something. "What's that?"

Green borrowed the cloth for a moment and took a whiff. "...Salt. This is sea water mixed with something..." He passed it around the others, letting other hands move take hold of it. Crystal shivered as she held the scrap. "It's cold...perhaps there was ice water mixed on it?"

Silver shook his head. "The sea is warm at nighttime.* Where would the ice water come from?"

Pearl felt the cloth with his fingers and felt a small crumbling in his hands. "Snow..." he muttered under his breath. "Either Sapphire is a snow-bat-person in disguise, or something with snow took her with it.."

Emerald tapped his chin. "I recognize that salty smell...it's like the ocean around the beach near Pastoria. From where the soil seal I had for that Gyarados. The snow, though...no clue." He looked at the blonde girl who began to chew at her bottom lip. "...Why?"

Yellow swallowed, her throat feeling dry. She took an apprehensive look at the wet shred of cloth and again felt that little twinge of electricity as her eyes made a connection with her mind. A familiar sensation she felt whenever a vision flashed clear to her.

"Please...look at the third paper."

Everyone's gaze followed the paper, and they recognized the symbol immediately. Ruby's breath hitched. "Is that...?"

The symbol of Kyogre burned red and strong on the paper.

* * *

Kyogre looked at the human and grunted out a reply. _There has been a sharp imbalance in nature, an imbalance that must be changed. As guardians of nature, we must help correct this grave problem._ The luminous red eyes watched carefully at the human's expression, one of comprehension. He nodded slowly at Sapphire's direction. _And you are the one to help us._

"Me! But why do ya need me?"

Sapphire stood up, outrage reverberating in her voice. "I don't know nothing of this! Even now, my friends and I are looking for the answer, but we can't find one."

She bowed her head and stared downward onto her lap. "We're trying to help fix this, but we just...can't." Her hands curled into fists. "What can I do alone?"

Suicune approached the girl, periwinkle-blue fur like an ocean's burgeoning crest. _We three are part of a triad-a triad of nature. In Sinnoh, a triad of such a nature is incomplete. We need your assistance to help us complete the triad of nature._ The deep eyes looked at her with a need.

"...Aren't the three lake spirits the triad of Sinnoh? They are complete, always have been."

The silvery crest of Articuno nodded to Sapphire's query. _Indeed, they are complete. But there have always been triads of nature - beings of the forces of the world. Though the beings of the lakes are a trio, they are creatures of the mind, of thought._

The metallic blue eyes looked into the water. _We need your help...with this._ The waves of the water began to glow.

**TBC**

*No, really, the water is warm at night. The sun's heat is absorbed by the water and is released at night, making the water cool again by day. (Scientific lesson of the day. :D)


	6. Chapter 6: The Choice

_A/N: Wowee, six chapters for a single day and night. How prolonged can this get? Hope you guys won't tire of it yet. :) School starts next week, so please forgive me if the later chapters roll out a little later. Hope you enjoy the latest (and by far, the fluffiest) chapter, everyone. :3_

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the idea of this story. *sigh***

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Choice**

* * *

_**"...Aren't the three lake spirits the triad of Sinnoh? They are complete, always have been."**_

_The silvery crest of Articuno nodded to Sapphire's query. __**Indeed, they are complete. But there have always been triads of nature-beings of the forces of the world. Though the beings of the lakes are a trio, they are creatures of the mind, of thought**__**. **_

_The metallic blue eyes looked into the water. __**We need your help...with this.**__ The waves of the water began to glow._

* * *

The shining object broke out of the foamy waves with a hiss of spray. Startled, Sapphire jumped back and landed seated on the wet cave floor again. With wide eyes she saw a huge jewel-bright egg, shimmering with ripples akin to sun on the sea. At the very heart of the egg was a sphere, red as a Persian's gem.

It traveled upon the choppy waters and rested onto the stone floor. Cautiously, Sapphire crawled to the egg - and was surprised to feel a warmth pulse to her bare skin. The egg was warm...could it be close to hatching?

_This is your task_, the Suicune nodded, padding close to the girl. _To care for this egg...and the Pokémon inside._ The wolf-like creature nudged her with its muzzle gently. _Hold it close to you...and feel the life stirring within._

Sapphire rested her cheek against the glass-clear shell and, lo and behold, another flicker of life touched the skin of her face.

"This egg...am I really the only one to care for this?" She turned her face toward Suicune, eyes in wonder and apprehension. "You know Gold, right? He's good at this kind of thing..."

Kyogre rumbled low in its throat, the sea leviathan disgruntled. _You are the only one to take care of this creature!_ The large fins swept up, emphasizing its point. _You have my presence, my power, a deep connection of water! You must let this connection fade by fulfilling your duty, unlike your role during the last time we have met._

Sapphire knew, in a rush, what he meant. In her mind's eye, the scene rewound to roughly two years ago.

* * *

_Plummeting._

_Her body crashed inside the seats of Wallace's air car, knocking her breath out. Regaining herself, Sapphire cried in horror as the air car's shield closed in on her and the two electric mouse Pokémon with her. She tried opening the shield, frantically pummeling her fists on the surface that locked her away from where she was needed...from the battlefield...from Ruby..._

_"What - why?" She screamed, fear escalating in her voice."What're you doing?"_

_Ruby looked at her with a burning look, a quiet and solemn glow. Ruby began to speak, carefully picking his words. _

_"I need...to thank you too."_

_Sapphire's eyes grew wide, and her heart beat a tattoo in her chest._

_"I'm also glad we made the bet." His pale lips unexpectedly curved into a small smile. "Really." His hard red eyes were shining like warm candle fire. _

_"...Thank you, but..."_

_Ruby's eyes narrowed, and his mouth tightened. "...I can't go with you. Because I know how you feel now. An..." His hand unexpectedly gripped his hat, and with a fluid motion he yanked his cap off._

_Astonished sea-blue eyes met gem-red ones as they flickered to a brutal slashing scar, hard and white on his temple and contrasting so greatly with his straight black hair. Ruby saw the girl of his past reemerge in her surprised and open face. He murmured warmly, tenderly, strong enough for her to hear every word. _

_"...I like you too. I've always liked you, ever since we first met."_

_He was the one. The boy of her dreams, who she had found again at last! For a moment, her heart skipped a beat for disbelief. But then why...had he imprisoned her? Why did he stop her from fulfilling her mission?_

_Ruby saw this in her face, and his own visage answered firmly as he put his cap back on. "That's why...I can't take you with me." The whirling winds of the battlefield were growing stronger, and debris noticeably flew about. "I can't let you...enter the final battle and face the two Pokémon!"_

_For her safety...he wanted to spare her. "That scar...! Ruby, you're...!" Sapphire cried, her voice strangled with emotion and worry. "...The boy who saved me from the Salamence!" She desperately wanted to get out, if only to stand by his side. Safety or not, this was her duty. To do this – with him. Them together._

_"Are you done?" A dark flap of wings echoed the cool voice that emerged._

_Ruby turned away reluctantly, visibly worried. "Yeah." He face the speaker with a solidarity that refused to discard. "Let's go..."_

_A rustle of navy blue feathers elicited a gasp from the girl in the air car. Plusle and Minun, the two magnetic pole Pokémon, were squeaking as they sensed that intruder. The figure's shoulders were grasped by a Swellow's strong feet, and her womanly curves and short dark hair showed her dangerous personality in the red hood and cloak of Magma. The destructive female Admin, with a cunning face._

_"Courtney."*_

* * *

"We can't just go back to bed, Professor!"

Pearl - always more of a doer - was beside himself. "Who knows what may have happened to Sapphire during this time! Everyone else is worried, too!"

Professor Rowan, however, was not to be trifled with. "This drawing should be analyzed in the morning, and the search for Sapphire shall continue as we sleep. Rest assured that our efforts in finding her will not slack, therefore we must all regain that strength." He gave a silencing look to the blond boy before clearing his throat. "Alright, everyone please go back to bed."

Everyone filed out in varying states of sleepiness. Diamond was soothing a slightly irate Pearl with mumbling words and gentle phrases. The professors were the last to leave, and Birch lingered around. His nerves did get the best of him at times, and he did worry for his little girl despite her toughness.

He did manage to chuckle when he saw an exhausted Yellow asleep with her head on the kitchen table. _Poor girl_, he thought. _So much trouble in one night without any rest._

"It's okay, Professor. I've got her."

Red came back into the kitchen and tried to coax the half-asleep Yellow on his back. "I'll just take her back to her room, sir." he laughed a little and bade the man goodnight.

As the Battler walked back along the halls in his pajama pants and t-shirt, he mused a little about the situation now...what did those series of pictures mean?

He felt the petite girl mumble to his back in a soft flutter and the young champion reminded himself again of a point of embarrassment: he was the last to realize that Yellow was a girl. _Her figure was quite boyish_, Red thought freely. _Sure, now she's prettier and starting to curve at the waist...But still. _

No one should blame him_. Her disguise was quite convincing, thanks very much! No one else figure it out either! I wonder why everyone was griping about __**him**__ not getting it in particular…_

"Oh...!"

Blue was standing in the hallway, looking for Yellow as well. The girl felt a strong bond of sisterhood with Yellow, and she did look like that kind of girl (at least, Red thought so) with her mildly bemused face. Grinning to show that she's alright, Red lowered Yellow carefully and let her walk inside the room holding onto Blue's hand.

He was about to leave and bid them good night, but not before reminding the tricky brunette standing at the door with a whisper and a blush.

"...I didn't do anything! Stop looking at me like that!"

* * *

Sapphire closed her eyes. It was very dark in the cave, even when illuminated by Articuno's chilly glow. Her memories vanished just as fast as she saw it. Carefully wrapping the egg in one arm, the girl walked closer to the huge whale-like creature with the glowing eyes of coals.

"I still have some of your power, huh?" She stretched her fingertips to Kyogre's jaws and indeed feel a sense of familiarity.

"This egg...must complete the triad you mentioned earlier." She nodded to Suicune, then to the egg. "I suppose, that the Pokémon inside can complete the triad." The gently pointed muzzle bowed its head in agreement. _The other triad of Sinnoh were not created as alike to each other. However, as the other legendary Pokémon correspond to each other, so do these three beasts of nature._

The girl thought from the top of her head.

..._Dialga and Palkia...Darkrai and Cresselia...Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf...even Arceus and Giratina...Regigigas, the king and part of the Legendary Golems, the Regis...then there was Heatran, and Shaymin..._

"Heatran and Shaymin!"She exclaimed, holding the egg close to her chest. "They must be the beasts of nature that you mean! So this little baby..." – and her eyes softened at this point - "must be the water Pokémon to complete the triad!"

_It did make sense_...

Sapphire bit her lip. It was already close to midnight, and she found this new information difficult to suppress. "I need to go back to my friends, my papa and tell them all." She cradled the egg in her arms. "How can I go back and hold this? The egg might break if I get swept up the same way I was brought here."

Suicune and Articuno suddenly turned grave, and they looked to Kyogre in the stony silence.

Suicune spoke first, gently as possible. _The egg you are tasked to care for...contains the Pokémon Manaphy. It is a child-like creature that can only hatch in cold waters. If in warmer waters, the creature changes and becomes a new species - Phione - to suit the temperature change._

_Your power_, interjected Articuno hastily, _will probably aid the Manaphy to hatch without such temperatures, but probably you will need to raise this creature in colder regions._ The fowl gracefully flicked its long metallic tail-feathers aside. _This baby Pokémon...possesses a great, raw power. If ever this power fell into evil hands, the world with be threatened as we know it._

Kyogre emitted a grunt from its large jaws. _This power must be protected...and as the caretaker of this Pokémon, you must...protect it at all costs. You...recall how you trained to control the Red and Blue Orbs with your companion?_

Sapphire nodded, apprehensive at the course this conversation was making. "The Orbs entered our bodies, and we had to control how to push them out."

She remembered the sudden stabbing pains that shot out of their arms, the threat of sudden madness, and the pressure of the few precious hours they had left mastering their skill. Her voice rang a note higher at the implication.

"Will the egg...go inside my body? Like...a baby?"

_...It may not be the best option_, Articuno admonished gently to Kyogre. _She is still young, and who knows how much stress can she tolerate? Perhaps the egg must be cared for in the more...traditional method. At least, until the egg is cold enough to hatch into a Manaphy._ The legendary bird gave a tremulous cry.

Suicune grew gruff at this. It too faced Kyogre with an argument of its own. _The raw power within that egg is prone to attract attention. Though this may be riskier, it is beneficial for the long-run and will ensure the safety of the Pokémon. _

_Not_, he added to Sapphire, _that I do not respect your wellbeing. I am simply looking out for the balance as our priority._

The leviathan Pokémon remained silent, looking at the young female carefully. _I believe_, it finally spoke, _that it is your choice here, young one. It is up to you._

Sapphire frowned a little, her arms wrapping closer to the egg. Against her chest, the egg felt like it had a heart beating close to her own. She was to raise this...effectively being a foster mother. Was she to put herself first, when the safety of Manaphy was paramount to the equilibrium of nature?

She gave a trusting look to the three creatures before her and bowed her head.

**TBC...**

*Courtney's name was translated to **Marge** in Chuang Yi's publication of the English Pokémon Special (named _Pokémon Adventures_). I prefer to use the original names from the Japanese version. (Anyway, I think "Courtney" suits our fiery Admin better.)


	7. Chapter 7: The Found

_A/N: I found this part difficult to approach. I think it will get funnier at the next chapter. I do hope it is okay for you all._

_Saw clothes that the rival of HG/SS wears. Silver in a tight black jacket and slim-fitting pants...rawr. Hahahaha. His hair is shorter and not as loose though, so maybe Silver will have his hair cut. Excitement. ^u^_

DISCLAIMER: Pokémon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and the people at his company. Pokémon Special belongs to Hidenori Kusaka.

**Chapter 7: The Found**

The sound of flapping wings continued into the diffusing light of the dawn. Various cries came out as alerts - a chirp here, a growl or buzz there. The Pokédex Holders didn't wake yet - tired of the night's events, they continued on sleeping while the others searched for a missing girl.

Winona was in the skies herself, riding on her Altaria. Her long lavender-blue hair hung down from the still morning, goggles and aviator helmet still on. Aside from being a friend, the Flying type Gym Leader was also the coach of the lively girl and one of the special people she confided her closely guarded feelings to.

All around her were other Pokémon, sent by her other companions; Skarmory, Driftblim, Magneton...They all knew where they had to go. The saltwater from the shred of cloth matched the water sample of the beach area near Pastoria, according to Professor Rowan's analysis.

The ocean beckoned to them with a clear briny wind - Jasmine, the Steel-type Johto Gym Leader tried to scan the area with her Magneton's magnetic field. Winona nodded toward the southeast sky and a thick blue line on the horizon.

"Over there!"

Fantina pointed toward a tiny body in the waves, floating as if she were asleep on a bed.

The Ghost-type Gym Leader bunched up her skirts and grabbed hold of Sapphire in the frothing waves with one hand. Driftblim's ribbon-like appendages clasped Sapphire securely at the waist.

"Is she...will she be okay?"Winona cried, speeding next to the older lady, who gestured at the sleeping girl.

"She is presently asleep, but her breathing sounds a little faint." Fantina struggled to wrap her mount's ribbon arms around the victim's waist - a waist that felt oddly stiff.

Driftblim was already lifting both up to a higher altitude, getting ready for the journey back home. Falkner, the Johto Gym Leader of the Flying type, soared behind the balloon Pokémon with his Pidgeotto grasping his shoulders. With a gust of wind from various wings, the group flew back to Hearthome.

* * *

A Persian prowled from the grassy bits near the sand as it saw flying Pokémon swoop down and find a tired little body floating on the water. The feline creature stretched its elegant cream fur body as it yawned wide. The black slit eyes were cunning, and it obediently scanned the surroundings, just as its Trainer said so.

_Perhaps_, the Persian purred to itself, stretching low on the ground, _I would be rewarded for this. A new shiny toy to play with?_

It licked its paw at the thought, its mistress' pale pointed face and dusty lavender hair held up in those strange little knobs. The woman's eyes were just as slitted as Persian's own, and Persian thought it nice to have such a clever Trainer.

The flying Pokémon were leaving into the skies again, but Persian could follow them from below. Steely claws gripped at the dirt for traction, velocity now coasting from its relaxed gait to a fierce run.

_Time to head back._

* * *

Professor Birch was looking quite queasy at what was in front of him.

Sapphire was lying prone beneath the hospital sheets, face asleep. She was unusually still, and refused to wake up. Her skin was pale and smelled of sea salt, hair unkempt. A tiny murmur escaped her lips, and her eyes cracked open to see her father's kind and concerned face.

"Papa..."

Tears were welling up in Professor Birch's eyes, relief finally crashing through. He grasped his little girl's hand and squeezed it. "Thank goodness you're alright..."

Sapphire smiled a little, squeezing her fingers back. Carefully she lifted her upper body to a sitting position, and the father and daughter held each other in a soft embrace.

"Papa...I have much to tell you...I have...something to show you as well." Her voice trailed into an almost inaudible tone. She lifted her medical gown up-with a little difficulty - to expose her tummy, both recoiling at what they saw. Professor Birch's strangled answer was panicked.

"Sapph...!"

On her abdomen were veins of what seemed to be crystal embedded in her flesh. It was patterned as ripples were on a wave, and the light dancing within the crystal seemed to time with her heartbeat. Birch noticed that Sapphire blanched a little under his awestruck gaze, chewing her lip with a sharp canine.

Her voice was soft, tremulous. "...I'm sure you're upset, Papa." Her eyes were focused on her lap. "I-I'm so sorry, Papa. But...I thought this was the best way." With a trembling voice, she recounted what happened inside the undersea cavern.

The professor listened intently and was particularly awed when she told of her conversation with the legendary creatures.

"...then I remember a hot, round thing pushing into my stomach...and then...being pushed out into the ocean…then I woke up here." Sapphire finished, quite timid. Her bright water eyes teared up a little.

"I t-thought you would be furious. I might have been reckless."

Sapphire felt her frail frame embraced by her father's warm and welcoming arms. She suddenly felt exhausted - the great burden on her heart seemed to have been lifted instantaneously, and she fell forward into her papa's hug.

Birch held her tighter, whispering back in the way fathers do. "I would never get mad at you with that reason, Sapphire. I love you so much, and you're so brave doing what you thought was right..." He stroked her hair with a paternal pride and chuckled a bit. "You look so much like your mother, you know that? I'm afraid of losing you, that's all."

Sapphire managed a weak giggle and clung onto him for support. "I'm here, Papa – you won't lose me. And you are for me too."

Just beyond the windowsill, a rush of air whizzed past like some deflating balloon.

* * *

Blue's eyes were wide open as she rewound her Fame Checker's record in her Wigglytuff's paws again and again. She sent her balloon Pokémon into the air to record as much of the conversation as possible...Blue was never one to wait for news.

The message was garbled near the end, but she was able to pick up the whole dialogue and a few scratchy words."Hot...thing push into...afraid..." Her mouth was tight and pressed together in a thin line.

The girls were sitting in a silent ring on the grass outside the Pokémon Center, below the window Sapphire's room was. A basket of toast and croissants were in between them, as well as dishes of bacon and eggs. A pitcher of cold berry juice and another of milk was beside them, as well as a box of cereal - they were going to bring the girl breakfast inside her room.

Platinum spoke, deathly serious. "Do you...really think that's true?"

She frowned at looked at her friend Crystal, who swallowed nervously.

"I-It's possible..."

She fiddled with her hair and tried to clear her head of the shock. _It sounded like...but was it really...?_

Yellow squeaked and frantically waved her arms. "T-That vision couldn't have been _that_ literal!"

Everyone looked at the blonde with wide eyes. "_You saw that happen_?"

The girl hid her face behind her hands, turning blazing red. "N-no, nothing like that! I saw...that egg...inside a body...but nothing l-like what you're thinking!" Her fingers twisted and laced together with frantic speed. "I t-think Sapphire's experience lines up with what I saw. The merging of things, I mean! Not any detail like…that!"

Blue thought hard for a moment and stood up suddenly, grabbing the basket of bread. "The best way about this mess," she concluded with a twinkle in her eye, "is to ask her ourselves."

The other girls were positively terrified.

"Are you crazy?" Crystal screeched. "What kind of person asks a thing like that?"

"I agree, that's so drastic!" Yellow piped up. "At least, give her some time to recover!"

Platinum said nothing, only looked at the three with an anxious look.

The brunette laughed - which made the other three even more nervous - and smiled cunningly. "Oh, we won't ask her directly. Just...help her recover until we can figure out the full story."

She had a strong urge to laugh at their silliness. "Oh come on, you guys are young ladies. I'm sure you already know your basics of sex education!"

Blue's hand flew at a piece of toast and tossed it to her Wigglytuff as a treat for its help. "If you won't go, then I will. Later, girls!"

Pleased to hear the hurried calls of "wait up!" and rustle of footsteps, Blue lengthened her stride and smartly walked toward the sliding doors of the Pokémon Center.

**TBC...**

_**S/he who guesses the surprise villain in this chapter gets a cookie!**_


	8. Chapter 8: The Faithful

_A/N: At this point, I can safely say the Pokémon Special Manga won't really run the same way anymore. Yeah._

_**DISCLAIMER: Pokémon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and the people at his company. Pokémon Special belongs to Hidenori Kusaka.**_

**Chapter 8: The Faithful**

"It's just hair gel, Silver!"

Gold chased his red-headed friend from the outside of a barbershop, waving his hands smothered with hair goo like crazy windmills.

Ahead of him Silver ran even harder, his boots pounding at the concrete. "I don't care, you are not touching this new cut!" He turned sharply left and nearly upset a frightened mother and her baby carriage in his wake.

He squawked as sticky fingers locked onto his burgundy mane and yanked hard. The two teenagers tumbled onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dry dust and earning a few scandalized looks from passers-by. Red panicked and tried to get them off each other. "Guys, now is not the time!"

Pearl, on the other hand, was cheering with all his might, hopping up and down as the two squirmed on the ground. Green sighed and tried to distance himself from the others, licking his ice pop.

A short distance away, Ruby and Diamond were walking a bit more slowly from the other boys. They, too, were headed for the Pokémon Center with ice pops. The girls had informed them (apparently, after several tense minutes) of Sapphire's situation just as they were out accompanying Silver for a haircut.

The Amity Square entrance buildings were still being repaired. Dia pointed the work cranes out to his companion, who seemed unresponsive at best.

"Ruby?"

"I've tried so hard to protect her...and now her burden is only heavier." Ruby said bluntly. His eyebrows angled sharply and made him seem so solemn. "Probably if I hadn't...but how could I have known?"

It was a bit unseemly of him, but he groaned heavily as he watched Red plead for Green to help him unstick their junior counterparts.

"I think you should have just a bit more faith in Sapphire." Pearl's green scarf got caught in Gold's flailing fists and he was dragged into the fray.

Ruby simply stared at Diamond, who continued on. "I think our role right now is to be there for her. She needs you." There was sincerity in his voice, simple and clear.

"...Yeah. Thanks, Diamond." Green sighed and clocked the three on their heads to stun them.

Diamond adjusted his beret and smiled serenely, watching Green drag them along the road. Much to Red's embarrassment and horror.

"No problem. You gonna finish that ice pop?"

* * *

"Ovoviparous, the case seems to be." The Nurse Joy presiding over the ultrasound said cheerfully. Aware of the delicate situation, she decided it was best to keep mum about it and be as supportive as possible. She held the ultrasound scanner to the teenager's stomach.

"Ovoviwhatsits?" Emerald was puzzled. He and the other Pokédex Holders were circled around Sapphire's bed, curious at this new development. His green eyes were wide with wonder as a tiny creature stirred from within, alive and aglow.

"That means that the baby isn't really growing from you - just inside you." She pointed to a thin chalky line that meant to be a shell in the shifting flesh of the grey screen. Nurse Joy heard the soft gasps and whispers of awe that was so familiar with human parents.

"You have to take care of yourself now, Sapphire. A natural gestation period of a warm-blooded biped Pokémon is roughly three months in natural surroundings, so I think we can say that your...um...case may be similar."

The wild girl suddenly felt a warmth in her heart, and she rubbed her palm over her stomach. She could even feel a tiny ripple under her skin.

"Manaphy. Its name is Manaphy."

* * *

The heat of the sun escalated as the day soon became noon. Beneath the green leaves was a small clearing, where the light of a Team Galactic uniform shone white.

Indeed the slender Jupiter was there, watching some sort of beeping device in her hands. The Commander smoothed her lavender tresses, keeping her Skuntank alert for anyone who might detect their presence.

"Why, Jupiter! I believe that it's been too long."

Horrified at the voice, Jupiter spun around and met a cold figure in grey robes leaning against the trunk of a large evergreen tree. Furious, she sent out her Skuntank to defend herself, screaming.

"You?"

The Persian flung itself at the violet stink Pokémon with an Iron Tail attack. The Skuntank ducked and narrowly dodged the blow, facing about sharply to deliver a Poison Gas attack. The Skuntank dove at the robed enemy and bared its claws to deliver a deadly Night Slash at the pale neck.

"Ah ah-ah," Sird smiled, pointing her finger at Jupiter.

The Persian tackled the Galactic Commander and pushed her to the ground, opening its glowing jaws to unleash a Shadow Ball at Jupiter's face. Struggling under the heavy feline paws, the candy-haired woman shrieked at Sird with venom.

"This is my assignment, wannabe! Stay out of this!"

The taller woman smirked and kneed the Skuntank in the ribs, twisting her lanky body away and clapped her hands once. Immediately her feline Pokémon sank its claws deeper into Jupiter's arms, forcing the Skuntank to hesitate attacking the Beast Warrior.

"Fat chance, pinky. Tell Cyrus that he can forget about his plan - it is stupid to think -"

Jupiter kicked the Persian in the gut with her white heeled boots, sending the large cat falling back into the shadowy bushes. She jumped up and got behind her Skuntank, who snarled menacingly.

"You're working for a fool that's been long dead to the world. Stop being such an idiot!" she roared.

Sird's face became draped in shadow, and she cackled madly. "Oh silly Jupiter, so cheeky as always!" Sird smiled and regained her composed demeanor. "I'm sure you're clueless about this new energy source your boss is hounding, am I right?" The pale woman's lips twitched cruelly as Jupiter blanched, and she clapped her hands sharply again.

"Silly girl..."

The Persian lunged to the extreme right, blasting a powerful blob of darkness at the Galactic Commander and her Pokémon. Jupiter and her Skuntank were caught off guard and were knocked off their feet and into the trees. The pink-haired woman's shriek of pain and rage resounded as the Beast Warrior slunk away, grinning madly.

"A message from Sir Giovanni, pinky...Team Rocket lives!"

* * *

"Excuse me, package for a Mister Gold."

After the ultrasound scan was completed, another pink-haired Nurse Joy came in, carrying a large brown paper package. Blue thanked her and took the package, passing it over to Gold.

"Cool, Ma's sent us new clothes. Look, there are some for you too - Silver, Crys." He waved two other thick bundles of clothes in the air.

"M-me too?"

"Wow, your mom's so nice!"

Everyone admired their nice new clothes, especially Crystal's - her outfit was a great departure from her usual attire. Ruby's mood considerably brightened as he and the girls chatted over how cute her puffy white hat looked like.

The other boys looked over at Silver's shorter - and much more form-fitting-jacket. Pearl wolf-whistled. "Oh, looks like Silver's out to attract someone with the power of his 'hotness'!" Even the red-head had to laugh.

Most pleased of all was Gold, who hollered,

"You think your clothes are cool? Check these out-ninja shorts!"

The black-haired youth swaggered around in his new jacket and shorts, the cuffs wrapping around his calves. He proceeded to prance around and stretch his legs, trying to do a few karate kicks and nearly knocking over a vase.

Crys had to suppress a faint urge to smack him round on the head.

"So, what are our plans now?"

Everyone looked pointedly at Sapphire, who murmured under her breath,

"...Snowpoint. I...need to get to Snowpoint. I was told that Manaphy should be born in the cold regions, so I think I should go there."

Green thought about this for a moment.. "With three months as our schedule, we aren't in too much trouble." Blue had to interject at this point. "Hang on a minute! The traveling pace will have to be slow, we'll have to pace ourselves for Sapphire!"

Platinum was already checking with her father for any lodging they could find at Snowpoint.

"W-wait, all of you are coming?" The wild girl was confused. The thirteen of them traveling all together?

"Of course! We still have to figure something out." Emerald declared, his superior tone rearing. "If Manaphy is needed to bring balance to nature, why did the unnatural phenomena happen only over the course of recent months?" What kept the balance before that? And what happened to it?"

Yellow crept over to Sapphire's bedside and clasped her hands together over the tomboyish girl's. "Of course, we can't leave you to do this alone."

Sapphire's face grew a happy pink and she nearly choked the blonde girl with a massive hug. She knew - from everyone else's smiling faces - that they, too, would not let her down.

* * *

BZEET. BEEP.  
Tapatapatapa.  
_Please wait.  
_BDEEP.  
Tapatapa.  
_Botanic energy source found.  
Location unknown.  
Volcanic energy source found.  
Currently at: Stark Mountain  
Tapitytaptap.  
Mobilization of agents successful.  
Current mission: retrieve marine energy source._  
BZZT.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 9: The Shadow

_A/N: Back from school exams! :D Hmmm...Apparently not many people like how this story is turning out...either because of the seeming Pokémon-in-human "birth" that "will" happen, or Crystal adapting Soul's clothes. Oh, dear me. :( _

_Please wait a while, this fanfic has nothing to do with displays of childbirth, and Pokephilia is not my thing! _

_And if Soul should be her own person, I wonder why there was no reintroduction of Blue as "Leaf"...or something. Maybe because there has never been a female protagonist before Crys...yet had Blue been packaged in the original GB series, I think some of you might not like her departure from her classy LBD and booties._

_A short public service blurb: SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH. Thank you. _

* * *

_**DISCLAIMER: Pokémon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and the people at the company. Pokémon Special belongs to Hidenori Kusaka.**_

**Chapter 9: The Shadow**

A lighter sparked from the confines of the room. It was still and quite cold, not even the air seemed to move save for the grey wisps that were born.

The flavor of tobacco spread sweet as poison only could, on the tongue. It was an unhealthy habit, the young man knew - it was a weakness that someone like him would loathe to succumb to - but it was his only indulgence at the time. He knew exactly how to fill his chest with rich curling smoke and puff it all out from his mouth and nostrils. Weeks of practice made him a little less likely to cough.

A timid-looking woman of her thirties seemed to be clad in a white coat, typing away a short distance from the smoker. Her face was plain and round, her short hair a dull brown. "We have dispatched our units as to our leader's orders, Commander." Her voice was willowy, and small to the listener. She ignored the smoke ghosting inside the room. She was not much surprised when the young man stood up.

"I'm going out for a while. Call if there's anything new."

Without batting an eyelid, Saturn stood up from his chair and walked out of the room.

* * *

It was hot outside again.

He was wearing white. A nice clean white polo shirt and nice light blue jeans. Nice, casual, and inconspicuous. Walking around in his metallic uniform would draw attention. And besides, Saturn hated wearing that outfit. He would cook in his clothes in this weather.

Saturn was seated at a park bench and watched the people around him. Parents and baby carriages, Contest coordinators and such. A police officer caught his gaze and the young man turned away quickly, his eyes finding a woman that just arrived at the city gate.

She seemed to be a traveler from her big bag and worn shoes. Her dark blue wrinkled jeans contrasted with the red and black-patterned t-shirt that puffed at the sleeves. Her hair was cut in a black bob, with equally dark eyes set on her face.

The police officer was now looking at him suspiciously, and was starting to talk on his walky-talky. Uh-oh, thought Saturn. Act. Now. He threw his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his heel, and walked over to her.

"Want to have coffee?"

Great. Just peachy. His body had chosen to move towards his subject of observation and step out and ask her to...what? His mind must have scrambled and locked on to the nearest shop in the vicinity. She must have thought he was weird, or something.

"...Huh?"

"You seem to be pretty bored." He immediately blurted. "So am I. So want to have coffee with me?"

"...Hmmm. Can't argue with that logic. Okay."

It took a few seconds for this to register.

"...Really?"

"As long as we go Dutch. Coffee, then."

They sat themselves at the Heart's Home Cafe and had iced cappuccinos (and, Saturn noticed, "a side order of cinnamon bread"). The umbrella over their heads was far too colorful for their taste, but alas they made do with their watered blue check.

The woman spat her gum out inside a tissue and threw it away before sipping her coffee. Saturn too took a bite of his amaretto biscuits, crisp.

The woman looked at Saturn square in the eye and cracked a sly grin. "So what makes a guy like you ask any random person out for coffee?"

Saturn chuckled at this. "Yeah, sorry about that." His dark eyes seemed to gleam. "I had no one to be with, and you didn't seem to mind."

She blew a stray lock of black hair from her forehead and smiled. "I don't, truth be told I was bored myself. And don't worry - I'm pretty dazzling, I know." She snorted as the young man blinked. _Was she...laughing at me? Is that a bad thing?_

"But you haven't told me your name yet."

The steely-blue haired man shrugged. "My...friends call me Saturn." It was true - not even Cyrus knew of his real name. It was always by code name - he, Mars, Jupiter, even Charon. "So, yeah. I'm Saturn."

"Well, my friends call me Courtney." A flipping gesture with her hand followed. "So yeah, I'm Courtney to you too." Both of them laughed.

The conversation flowed - Courtney, apparently, had been training in Sinnoh for a month to be able to compete in the Contest Hall. Saturn merely supplied that he was an employee of an energy-company - a thing that Courtney laughed at.

"The guys who work at the Mauville Power Plant," she grinned, "are real nerds, electronic freaks. With the lab coats and everything. You must be a different species of nerd."

Their voices and chatter were fluid, free...Saturn felt at ease. That didn't happen too often. Sooner or later their conversation turned to the weather, in this case a quite interesting topic.

"Could you believe that there was a storm not too long ago here?" The young woman pointed at the entrance of Amity Square, wrapped in scaffolding. "I heard reports of a crazy Gyarados barging in there. And now look - the air's so hot my coffee could boil."

Courtney looked on from under the umbrella, eyes quickly averted. "The strange weather...it reminds me of what happened back in Hoenn. But at least it looks safe now."

"The crisis, right?" Saturn was sympathetic..._was she traumatized?_

"It was terrible." She shrugged, somewhat nonchalant. "But it's over now."

There was silence.

Awkwardly enough, his cell phone rang. The young man sighed and took the call, excusing himself. Courtney's mood certainly dimmed...perhaps he really wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"Hello?"

"Sir, it's Jupiter. She has returned from her recon, and she is injured."

"What happened?" His tone became razor-sharp.

"There was a Team Rocket person named 'Sird' involved, sir, but Jupiter wishes to speak to you privately."

"...Fine. I'll be there in a while."

"Sounds like a problem?" Courtney asked, finishing her drink. "A woman problem?" She cracked a foxy grin.

Saturn felt his face burn a bit...he wasn't the type to get any sort of "woman problem"."A work problem, really. I gotta go."

"Hey, thanks for the coffee. Will I get to see you sometime?"

He thought about it for a while, and against his common sense he smiled.

"Yeah, probably." A rare sincere smile graced his lips. "Maybe I can see you perform in a contest some time?"

Courtney laughed. This kind of hitting-on was actually quite refreshing. "Sure, boy blue."

With a smile and a promise, both parted ways.

* * *

Something was not right.

Of course, _it_ of all things should know that.

The twisted body moved its head, chalky stone features stark against the blackness that was the universe. A strange vibration was echoing around it again, humming through the golden arch above its back. Its eyes peered out from its dark and armored face.

The strange vibration was getting stronger. The creature looked down from its throne unto the world. Something was happening there, wasn't it?

A twinkle of light appeared in its realm, and the twinkle formed into a shape with a long tail. The small body was covered in light rose fur, and the blue eyes were alive and clear. The small one bowed to the larger, for life was created from everything. It pointed a paw towards the spot the white beast was looking at, and transmitted something telepathic. It then disappeared again.

Something was happening after all.

* * *

Saturn returned to their hidden building and fished out another stick from his pocket, lighting it up as he turned the hallway. He found Jupiter beckoning him into a room, her body covered in scrapes and bumps. Locking the door securely, the pink-haired commander sighed and sat on the floor, looking quite miserable at best.

"That Sird person really got you good," the higher-ranking commander smirked, smoke puffing out his words. "What's the problem?"

"She...she said that Team Rocket...Team Rocket lives."

Saturn's eyes sharpened at it.

"So...that means Giovanni is alive too...? Master Cyrus...won't be pleased."

He sat back on the single metallic bench in the room and groaned, massaging his temples. And the day started out so well, too. "What are they up to, Jupiter? Tell me. Did that woman leave any hints, any clues?"

The woman only shook her pale head, nervous at her defeat at the Rocket Beast's hands. "Damnit..."

"B-but, she knows we're after the water legendary...she _knows_...but, how...?"

"Obviously you're not suited for this assignment, Jupiter."

"Huh!"

"...If Mars were here, oh, she'd probably do a good job of it. She's much more intimidating..."

"Shut up, Saturn! That woman is nothing – nothing! - now. She's forever lost in the Distortion World!"

"...That's what we thought about Master Cyrus."

The tension turned thick as stone as Saturn spoke coldly. "Isn't that the whole point of the operation, Jupiter? To pull him back out? Having our fellow Commander simply means a success in the Dimension portals we've been trying to create since the whole Giratina fiasco." The young man seemed to look through the walls in contemplation. "This only brings us closer to regaining Cyrus."

"You mean…?"

Jupiter's eyes widened and her face blanched considerably as the door rattled, and the red-haired commander appeared, unlocking the door with her key.

She was wearing a new, cleaner uniform of black, though the design was the same as her old Galactic uniform. This Mars was certainly paler and slightly more gaunt (an aftereffect of the Distortion World?) She smirked and looked at the rather pathetic-looking person on the floor.

"Why, hello Jupiter. Aren't you glad to see me?"

"But…how?"

"The generators were overloaded in the end, and the portal was not nearly powerful enough to bring more than one person. But I'd be of more service to Master Cyrus in the real world, anyway. He said that he has business to finish back there, and will not leave until the final device is complete."

"Enough, both of you. "Saturn was stern. "Jupiter has encountered Team Rocket on her recon work. I want you to gather information on Team Rocket. They should not mess up our plans. Are we clear?"

He inhaled deeply, letting his lungs fill. "We need that energy to complete the operation at the lakes. We need that Legendary Pokémon, and we will have to exact any means necessary to get it."

Exhale. "And before Team Rocket gets to it."

"...Yes, sir."

She turned to go out again, batting her heavy red eyes at the two. "I assure you, I won't fail."

Click. The door shut.

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter 10: The Discovery

_A/N: The release of HeartGold/SoulSilver has got me really in a puzzle. Should I continue the storyline as is, or modify to perhaps suit the new gaming situation? Hmmm...Has anyone noticed that HG/SS might be following PokeSpe now? :3 Especially the G/S/C arc. I think. I hope it's true, no Pokémon fan should be left clueless about this epic manga._

_Woohoo, ten chapters! Thanks to all who read this story, and for giving it a chance. I owe you guys for the long wait, and this chapter is pretty big just for you guys. Enjoy!_

_**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot! :)**_

**Chapter 10: The Discovery**

The yellow-brown tree leaves were swirling in the crackly-dry breeze, and the flurry of foliage greeted the Pokédex Holders as they stepped off the bus at Solaceon Town.

Platinum, with her encyclopedic knowledge of almost everything, had planned their way in going to Snowpoint City. Carefully factoring in Sapphire's condition, the heiress decided to make a gentler route to take: making stops at Celestic Town and a brief crossing into Mt. Coronet before taking the long and perilous snow-beaten trail northward.

"Tomorrow we can start going to Celestic and pick up some special herbal medicines," Platinum continued. "They don't have a Pokémart there, though. We'd best get supplied from here."

The Pokédex Holders split up for the day around the town.

"If you'd like for me to raise your Pokémon, please have a word with my wife."

The little blond boy laughed and climbed onto the fence of the Daycare Center. "Thanks, but I just want to watch the little ones play."

Emerald, Blue and Green were at the side of Solaceon, looking at the Pokémon that gamboled within the enclosures. Blue and Emerald were leaning on the fences and looking out upon the fields. Green stayed close to the Daycare Man in mild conversation.

"Weather's been pleasantly mild, eh?"

"It has, sir."

"I guess the Phione must have been moving for a while now!"

"...Phione, sir?"

The Daycare Man smiled. "Phione are mysterious sea fairy Pokémon, extremely rare. They can produce dew that can heal any sickness, they say! Their presence influences the changes of the sea at times. They sometimes make the weather milder by keeping the waters calm and strong." The kind old man's face brightened under the gray whiskers at the good weather. "It does make me feel blessed."

Emerald grinned. "You don't say. So that's what's been keeping the balance!" he whispered to the Viridian Gym Leader. He seemed quite relieved, and had a wide grin on his face. "The situation's pretty much under control, eh?"

The older boy nodded, reevaluating what he had thought about. "Mm-hmm. For the most part."

Blue raised a fine-line eyebrow. "'For the most part'? You're so pessimistic."

Green thought a moment before answering. "Well, the Phione can't keep this equilibrium permanently. Their numbers will have to be tightly controlled for the stability of the whole region." Being Professor Oak's grandson, he was naturally inclined to know a thing or two about ecology.

Emerald whistled and continued looking straight ahead. "That's hard. Makes sense to have the Legendary to keep everything in check."

He sighed as he spotted a familiar white cap and a crimson head of hair enter a clothing store. His normally confident boyish face showed a bit of doubt. "It doesn't make this any easier, though."

Silver had to redefine his vision of "ruthlessness".

When he heard that Ruby was a ruthless person in battle, he came to believe that he was merciless and decisive. Intimidating, with the same bloody luster he shared with his father Norman in battling. Silver knew all about inheriting - he did himself with his own...father, Giovanni.

Apparently there was another kind of ruthlessness.

Ruby had dragged Silver to the clothing store to be helpful...translated, to be a pack mule. And holding bags of Pokémon medicines and travel supplies was tiring, but after watching the younger boy haggle, hustle and hurry to get their shopping lists done, Silver preferred being the pack mule.

After a quick pick-up for some barbeque (that being the specialty of Solaceon's farming industry), Ruby was again in the thick of battle. And his red-haired companion was very, very glad he wasn't part of this battle.

"I saw this first, ma'am!"

"The heck you did!"

"This size is perfect! It's really important!"

"You aren't the one carrying babies, boy - I know it's important!"

After several more minutes of intense scouring and a nerve-wracking tug-of-war, Ruby was able to reemerge with two more plastic bags of winter clothes, scarves and maternity wear.

"All at a discount!" Ruby laughed and wiped at a slight scratch on his face. His face and body seemed to be slightly battered, but the Coordinator was in a hale mood, and he proudly walked around with his treasures toward the exit of the store.

Silver had the terrible urge to laugh, and he did snort a little. "You seem so focused on whatever you do, Ruby. It's kind of amusing."

The arms in the black jacket felt like lead from carrying stuff, but Silver didn't mind. Ruby was beginning to be very relatable...very flamboyant, but relatable. He knew the pain fathers could bring, and being around fierce women, and was a monstrously talented battler.

The capped trainer only smiled serenely. "Well, that kind of absolute focus helps everywhere. Battles," he said, locking onto his senior's metallic irises, "are fought on the battlefield of life." He looked at this young man, more soldier than trainer, and shrugged.

"And hey, those discounts were huge. It was totally worth it!"

"Even when that fat woman tried to throttle your neck?"

"Definitely."

Both of them chuckled.

Pearl, being as stubborn as he is, dragged his best friend to the edge of town to practice a Manzai script every now and again in case they got rusty.

Gold and Red followed, being fond of humor in general. There were peals of laughter, and occasional sounds of slaps from a large paper fan.* Chatlord the Chatot and Beh the Munchlax imitated their trainers' mannerisms to a T, with the parrot Pokémon squawking and repeating criticisms to the meek blue-grey mammal companion. Everything seemed like so much fun!

The practice was predictably erratic until an odd smell rushed by.

Of course Beh caught the scent - the smell was berry-like - and managed to dash with surprising speed to a certain patch of grass north of Solaceon Town. "Wait!" Dia cried and tried to catch up to his Pokémon. His blonde Manzai partner was already hot on his heels, spurting vehement complaints - _how will they sink in practice now?_ The other two young men followed close behind: Gold on his skateboard and Red on his own long legs. Finally sensing the smell, the soft-spoken boy ground to a dead stop.

Pearl didn't brake fast enough, and he slammed into Dia's back, who surprisingly did not falter. He landed with a thud on his butt, grumbling but keenly aware that Dia was aware of something that he wasn't at the moment. Gold did a trick before jumping off his vehicle, and Red was breathing heavily.

"What…was that?"

Diamond inhaled hard. It smelled like perfume...a very familiar perfume of a woman. It was subtle and spicy, something that he never paid attention to before...this sudden scent was recognizable, yet the rush seemed more Pokémon than anything. The Battler already had a hand to his Pokéball belt.

The grass rustled as the rushing thing disappeared. A faint _plink_ signaled something had dropped.

The little Munchlax waddled into the grass and pulled up the object from the ground. Immediately Pearl blanched as he saw a collar with familiar yellow initials. It had lain in the grass, trampled slightly by paw prints of what seemed to be of feline Pokémon origin. His fears were confirmed when his best friend nodded stiffly.

Team Galactic.

* * *

"You idiot, you could have been caught!" Saturn's voice was cutting through the receiver.

"I wouldn't worry if I were you." Mars was abrasive, sneering and cold. "Obviously you aren't as concerned about Master Cyrus as I am! What about acquiring that energy source? If we don't get all the power we need, we cannot reopen the Distortion World!" She looked around at her Purugly, who kept a tight watch.

The two were inside a hidden building, one of the secret locations Team Galactic had. A large network of processing machines was there, as well as cabinets of files and information. The red-haired commander was pleased to see that her subordinates' reconnaissance data was genuine, with her own eyes. Sending the data to Saturn through the computers, Mars leaned back on her chair and scratched her cat affectionately behind the ear.

"Excuse me? 'I wouldn't worry if I were you?' You have obviously forgotten who we're dealing with." Saturn chided his subordinate smoothly. "These so-called 'kids', if I recall, foiled our plans before." His displeasure can even permeate the receiver to the white and sterile room.

"_Fine_. I'll be right there." Mars punched the "hang up" button hard with her finger. _Stupid Saturn._ Standing up from her desk, she was making her way to the door when a sudden glow of light to her extreme right hallway caught her eye. She ran toward it.

It was Sird. The pale woman was harsh under the sun seeping through the broken window. Beside her was her Pokémon, with ten crystalline arms and a sinister red eye in center. In Sird's clawed fingers were several thick folders, scrounged from the filing cabinets and thickly labeled "Project Release".

The Rocket Beast's Starmie began spinning wildly, building up static power and releasing a Thunderbolt attack. Purugly dodged it and slashed at the alien creature with its claws, trying to chew one of its arms off. Their trainers were running at each other, into a battle of their own.

Mars kicked Sird's side, pointed black heel drilling at the ribs. Sird coughed and swung forward, elbowing Mars in the face and dropping the papers everywhere. She smirked as a black and blue mark swelled below the red eye. The smirk disappeared into a shriek, however, as Purugly's firm jaws clamped onto her calf and drawing a little blood. Starmie followed up with Rapid Spin, throwing Mars and Purugly away from its trainer.

The Galactic Commander grunted and swung her leg in her opponent's knees. Sird yelled and crumpled to the floor, just a few feet from the documents she was trying to steal. Mars stepped over her and pulled a fistful of the front of Sird's robes and spat in her face. "What are you doing here?"

The lilac-haired femme hissed a little and strained forward to whisper something.

"Those kids...don't you think...it's strange that they are all here?"

Mars hesitated - for a split-second - and that was all the invitation Sird needed.

She knocked the air out of the other woman with a well-placed punch and climbed upon her Starmie's body. Commanding a Flash-Bubblebeam combo, Sird was propelled out another window upon the Pokémon's back while the Galactic Commander was blinded from the light.

In a moment, they were gone.

The red-haired Commander cursed. Then she sat on the floor. She threw her head back and laughed. Exhilarated, mad?

Mars beckoned her Purugly closer and examined its jaws, still a little damp from tasting Sird's leg. She was pleased to find the tiny microchip at the canines to be missing.

The sudden beeping of the computer monitor meant the tracker was activating.

* * *

"When I'm old enough to have my kids," Sapphire moaned. "I ain't having them." She retched again.

Crystal, Yellow and Platinum stayed behind inside the Pokémon Center. They were all in the bathroom, huddled near the toilet as a wave of nausea made sickening splashes into the water.

"Why do they call it morning sickness," Crystal wondered, exasperated, "If it doesn't happen in the morning?" She was wiping Sapphire's face with a damp towel, and Yellow was rubbing her back. Platinum stayed close by, a little taken aback. They did all they could as the brunette arched over the toilet and threw up several times.

"...Thanks," she managed to pant after drinking some water gratefully. On wobbly legs she collapsed onto the bed, trying to regain herself. The other three girls watched over the young woman, concerned. Deciding to let her rest alone, they went to the main lobby and fell into a discussion over the events so far.

"I've read pregnancy books, and I've heard these were symptoms for the first month," Platinum whispered, mystified. "But, it's only been five days since the incident! Why is it so fast?" She sofa and sighed, feeling a bit useless.

"...Pokémon gestation is a month at the shortest..." she replied softly to herself, taking on the magnitude of the situation. "Maybe the whole thing is fast because...the world needs Manaphy soon."

The other two girls said nothing, only murmured their agreement. They looked up and smiled as Ruby and Silver appeared, laden with bags.

Ruby gave a quick greeting and went to the rooms eagerly with clothes and food for his best friend - Yellow blushed at the thought if _her crush_ was as sweet - while Silver collapsed on the couch next to Crystal, red hair surprisingly disheveled. He made no explanation, only mouthing the word discount. Platinum giggled, she had never heard someone so eager over a discount before.

The seemingly peaceful atmosphere was broken when a gagging sound erupted from the dorms.

"...Oh no." And angrier than she's ever been in a while, Crystal stomped to the rooms. She'll give such a telling-off to that boy...didn't she tell him not to bring any greasy foods around while Sapph had her morning sickness? Her petite senior was ahead, a tired face showing. Silver joined in too, partly to help and partly to see what will happen to Ruby when Crys gives him her own death glare.

And Platinum was left on the couch, feeling that, despite her knowledge and power, she wasn't much help after all.

* * *

The very dark, very quiet room was a room of secrets.

Surely Sird was there, but that was because Sird was a secretive woman. Her leg was tended to, and she looked as composed as ever. The documents she was able to filch were spread out on a lone table in the room. Except for one.

She was speaking directly to a heavily-scarred figure lying on the bed. His torso was swathed with bandages, his face though still as focused as ever. Her voice held reverence, respect. "We have successfully lured them away from our objective, sir. They are currently chasing after another target - the newest Legendary Pokémon of the sea."

A murmur replied, too quiet to hear.

"...We will capture the creature at the latter stage of our plan, sir. Team Galactic is unaware that this new Pokémon cannot be captured at the moment. The reports have indeed confirmed the presence of the Pokédex children. They are involved in this."

A difficult look emerged on his face, and a heavy sigh escaped from his lips. His meaning was clear.

_Do what you must._

"Yes, sir."

The fragile figure in the bed looked on as Sird bowed and walked out of the room. One unbroken thought stood out from his ambitions.

_My son..._

As Sird left the room, a sinister smile spread across her peaked face. She listened to her own heartbeat in the ghostly corridors, aware of the paper secret she held near it.

* * *

They were soft cerulean shadows under the waer south.

A colony of Phione danced under the sea, numbering just under fifty, yet that large a gathering already a rarity in itself. They spun their delicate blue bodies to the ocean current, shining red jewels humming a presence that soothed the sea and brought peace - an enchanting undersea song.

These creatures were tied to their Prince, a prince that was soon to be born. Eagerly they waited, doing their duty by harmonizing nature as much as they possibly can. Everything seemed perfect in their plan, to await the newest Legendary Pokémon...

A huge mass of cables suddenly descended upon them, shrouding them in shadow. The sea fairy Pokémon struggled to break the net, thrashing wildly, their song becoming dissonant. A powerful shock paralyzed their fins - to their horror, the cable net was charged with electricity. A collective spasm shook the Phione colony - they were rendered helpless, limply hanging from the net.

The Phione that managed to escape were grievously injured, hiding behind the coral reefs and rocks. They watched, helpless, as their brethren were hauled up to the surface world...the other Phione, they must warn them!

The sea fairies swam off, alerting the other colonies, yet the forlorn blue eyes dimmed, knowing that the equilibrium may soon be broken...

_Where was their Prince?_

_**TBC**_

_*A paper fan for the straight man (Pearl) to smack the funny man (Dia) is a classic staple of Manzai comedy routines!_


	11. Chapter 11: The Planned

_A/N: If you thought updates were rare before... :( _

_Well, college applications are next year and my grades can't afford to slip like they did. If I'm lucky, my mom will let me use the Internet more than once every weekend. :D But don't worry! Please rest assured that I'll do my best (both at school and in writing)!_

_I do hope you forgive me for this late chapter. I had a difficult time thinking of what could happen next. :( But any suggestions would be more than welcome!_

**Chapter 11: The Planned**

The dry little blue body hung limp in the machine's iron grip. It looked like a flaccid lifeless balloon, and perhaps it already was - Sird didn't really care much for those kinds of details.

A huge glass tank full of Phione was nearby, the gemstone eyes wide and afraid as the pile of empty carcasses grew. Each Pokémon was subject to the same treatment: paralyzed by electric shocks, large tubes attach to it and drain it of its life force, its miraculous healing dew that they made with their bodies. The pumps whirred and the readings registered as the life-giving elixir were siphoned into bottles.

Sird took one bottle and looked carefully at the inside. Its liquid shimmered and rippled, and seemed to carry hope. _This will surely bring back our 'dear leader' back to his former glory_, she thought. She set it aside from the others on the steel table reserved for Giovanni. And then some.

The scientist in charge of the operation asked meekly. "What do we do with the rest of the Pokémon, ma'am?"

"...Set them free. We have all we need." The tall Rocket Beast sat down on a chair in the cold metallic laboratory, looking over another research paper with notes. Folklore, studies, research, were all pertaining to such aspects of life, longevity...immortality.

"And...does anyone know?"

"No one, ma'am."

"Very good. What do we have?"

The scientist-a slight balding man in his forties-jumped and looked over some of his research in the computer. "We have studied the life-giving properties of this Phione dew, and we think that perhaps a stronger dew could be obtained from their leader species...we have tried making substitutes from other substances..."

It was true. The armor that the simple-minded Archie wore under the alias of Guile Hideout was coated with this experimental substance, to disastrous effect. But with the Manaphy dew...could true immortality be reached?

Sird's waxen face twisted into a wicked little smirk. This was shaping up nicely.

* * *

For a rare moment, the two were alone in the depths of history.

Platinum and Diamond were in the cave at the middle of Celestic Town, several hours after their arrival. They came to look at the fresco on the wall, hoping to find clues...

A kind of tension rose up in the air, though the young heiress was unsure why it was there in the first place. She looked at Diamond discreetly, with the corner of her metallic-brushed eyes. His expression seemed serene, a little mysterious. His own eyes moved and looked back at her, widening as they made eye contact.

Diamond couldn't help but remember...

_His face was covered in glompage and Turtwig when a figure in the distance caught his eye._

_A figure of beauty and grace, with lustrous black hair and the most mysterious eyes. Her clothes were those of finery, the scarlet scarf blowing in the trace breeze. Her face was pale and composed, her bearing that of royalty. Rings of pearls and diamonds adorned her fingers, and the cooing Piplup in her arms gave an air of femininity.*_

_What a beautiful lady...and...so full of elegance...just like..._

_A moment was all he needed to know the right word._

_**A princess.**_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden roar of noise

Platinum screamed and wobbled as the cave shook violently. She was knocked into his arms as the two trainers fell on their knees. Immediately Dia called out his Lickilicky from its ball. "Use Power Whip to knock the rocks back, Lee...!"

The creature's long tongue shot out multiple times, swatting away any stray boulders. It was in the middle of smashing an oncoming rock slide when it sidestepped close to the Pokédex Holders with its heavy weight...

The ground gave way under them and they fell into darkness.

"Not even big, and already I'm in a dress."

This wasn't to say that Sapphire disliked it. She didn't like overly fussy numbers with enough ribbons to festoon a Ponyta parade, but she did enjoy the freedom a simple dress provided.

The simple lemon-yellow sundress was airy and free, billowing in a flattering A-line cut. It hid the few everyday cuts and bumps an athletic girl like her had, and she didn't feel too bad. In fact, her clothes were a little old and she had longed for a little change.

The fact that she was wearing shorts underneath didn't hurt either.

Goodness, Sapphire Birch_ liked_ this dress. But she didn't want to make people think that she was going all girly all of a sudden - not at all!

So she took a walk alone as the others rested in the Pokémon Center. And to reassure the others, she brought Toro - her faithful partner Blaziken - with her. It was funny to think that Toro was ladylike outside battle, despite her brutal power. Indeed, her quiet nature made her a good companion.

Sapphire and Toro were looking out at the short grasses bordering sleepy little Celestic Town to the west when a splash of water hit Toro in the back. Disturbed, she clicked her beak fiercely for a moment before directing her attention to the creature making such a fuss. Sapphire looked around, alert.

It was a Corphish. Its crustacean body was orange and shelled and it had comical beady eyes. It waved its claws around for attention. It opened its jagged mouth to cry "corphish".

_Over here!_

"Huhn?"

The obnoxious-looking Corphish went on, its mouth scrambling with cries of "corphish, cor, corphish, corphish, cor," To Sapphire's ears the cries were like a fuzzy aerial, waving back and forth until she discerned something she could understand...

She looked at Toro, who seemed offended at the Water Gun attack.

_Oh what's the point, I'm talking to a HUMAN of all things. I swore there were other water Pokémon around here - I felt a presence or something...anyone who knows what I'm talking about...? Hey, Blaziken-lady, YOU know what I'm saying..._

"Excuse me?" The young woman gaped at the animal, who immediately stopped flapping its claws about in a frenzy. They stared at each other. Toro was dumbfounded. She thought to herself, _Did Sapphire understand what this uncouth Pokémon said?_

_Did...you hear me?_

"Y-you talked!"  
_  
Y-you understand!_

A fraction of silence passed before the Corphish blinked and shook its head frantically. _Never mind the how or why or what! There was a big crashing of rocks just a while ago! There at the big cave! And some other humans were inside!_

Its orange body flailed in the grass, yelling interrupted as Sapphire ran as hard as her body would permit, to find the others.

* * *

The bomb had detonated perfectly, and the perpetrator watched the smoke and rubble from a short distance. Clad in a metallic suit and outlandish aquamarine hair, the Galactic Grunt was about to flee the scene. The headquarters would contact him soon...

A rush of black fur came and tackled the man to the ground, snapping and angry.

"Waaugh!"

The garish Grunt was immediately trapped between a snarling Mightyena and a cold brute of a Trainer. His eyes were hard and cold-blooded, his face drawn into a tight-lipped frown. One command could send the black dog Pokémon chewing the man's head off in mere seconds.

"I found him, Pearl."

A blond boy was in front of him in moments, venomous and hands clenched into fists. "What the hell did you do? What happened to Dia and the Lady?" An older brunet boy had to hold him back a little, though his expression was similar to the Mightyena trainer. "Red and the others are digging the entrance open. Bring him along, Rube."

The first trainer nodded and the canine creature lunged, a firm grip on the Galactic Grunt's neck. The Pokémon's master continued on in a calm voice.

"You're coming with us."

* * *

"What do you see?" Blue called out from the rim of rock above the trapped teenagers.

Platinum's Rapidash fanned out its flame and shone a light upon the rock wall.

"It looks like a mural, bigger than the one above us."

On the left was a serpentine head of shadows, wreathed in gold and crimson beneath leathery wings.

On the right was a tiny pink embryonic being, with blue hollows that were eyes.

And between them was a huge painting of a being, with slender white legs and a golden ring crowning its sides. Its glowing green and red eyes seemed to see everything, and yet nothing. The Original Being itself - Arceus.

Engraved underneath the huge fresco were words engraved in the ancient language, before people discovered writing, yet a language still accessible in the present world. Platinum knew this language - her father showed her books of it-and she was able to make out the writing and translate it.

Emerald held the memory firelighter above the hole with his hand extensor.

_"Life and death are only a part of the everything - if not, there is the nothing."_

_**TBC...**_

_*It's not that having a Piplup is feminine. I just imagine that it makes her look very affectionate, cuddling something so small sweetly. :)_


	12. Chapter 12: The Message

_A/N: I owe you guys a lot :D Belated Happy Holidays and a happy New Year to all!_

_This fic will become a bit more Sapphire-centric starting here, because it's kind of difficult to give everyone the limelight. But I am trying! Hope you guys enjoy!_

_**DISCLAIMER**__: I do not own Pokémon Special._

_**Chapter 12: The Message**_

The light seemed harsh in Celestic Town's Pokémon Center's spare room.

The Galactic Grunt found himself handcuffed and facing a wall of men dressed in blue. He quivered and turned pale-he had been caught!

"P-Please don't lock me up! I w-was just following orders!" He seemed like matchsticks in the wind.

"Orders?" The policeman interrogating him was stern. "What were those orders for?"

"It's the higher-ups, they have a p-plan...calling it Project Release. It's all shady b-business, even in our place. But rumor is that they're trying to open the D-Distortion World again. To free the b-big man himself, they say they're g-going to use the three nature p-powers to open the doorway."

"What nature powers?"

"T-They said they would take the power of the three Legendary Pokémon of nature...Heatran, and S-Shaymin...and some other mysterious Pokémon..." The grunt trembled. "B-but that's all I know, I-I swear! And I d-didn't mean to blow up the cave if there were p-people in it! I was just t-told it was to delay the k-kids!"

"Why would you delay them?"

"B-Because the Commanders said that they had the k-key to unlocking the mysterious ocean power!"

The officer examined the suspect carefully. He looked at the young lady behind him, who nodded. "Fine," he said shortly. He motioned something to the other uniformed men behind him. "Take him away, boys. He might help us uncover the rest of Galactic's movements."

The bright-haired man was in tears and visibly trembling. The officer comforted him with reassuring words about his punishment being lessened for his cooperation.

Platinum flinched as she heard the man sniff and weep.

* * *

A giant roar erupted from the stomach of the melting-hot cavern.

The many-legged creature crumpled onto the floor, its body of living lava weakening. The great metal head crashed upon the ground, causing its surroundings to quake under its weight. Weeks of struggling since its capture made it exhausted.

The humans moved quickly, attaching strange objects to its body and running around. They had imprisoned it, and had been using their technology to steal power.

Heatran roared again, this time softer. Its voice rang clear to the other creatures, telling them to flee and to warn the others. _Soon_, it said, _the balance of Stark Mountain - even the whole region's balance of the power of fire - emay collapse_. Hundreds of growls and cries and footsteps sounded off as they fled, but the humans took no notice.

With a shudder, Heatran collapsed to the ground. The fading sound of applause was left as a heart of glowing fire was encased in the humans' devices.

From the crater where ash once spouted was now full of dirty, sickening smoke. It stood like a dark pillar that signaled something terrible was to happen. Already the warmth of the soil, the heat of the continent's lifeblood was weakening.

* * *

When Platinum delivered the report back to the others in the lobby, everyone turned grave.

At last Red spoke out, and everyone turned to listen.

"We have to move out soon," he began. "Team Galactic knows why we're here, and they want to use that power to reform themselves with their leader. As long as we're in any town or city, the people around us will be in danger. If that cave collapsed back there with other innocent people inside, I don't think it would have mattered to them."

Red looked grim, and more authoritative than he had ever been. His red eyes burned steady under his black bangs, the posture he had was strong and serious. His companion Pika looked worried, noticing a very dense feeling around his trainer. Truly there was reason behind the fact that he was the leader of the Pokédex Holders.

The Battler caught his Pikachu's anxious eye, and immediately his tense aura faded. "I'm not saying this to worry anyone, I'm just reminding everyone - including myself - of what could happen. After all, we've all experienced what evil can do to people. The best thing we can do now is to concentrate on our goals - to protect Manaphy and reach Snowpoint for it to be born. And probably kick Team Galactic's butt while we're at it."

Green nodded and Blue giggled as that confident grin reappeared on their leader's face. Yellow had to smile...she admired that confidence that warmed other people like the sun did. She could only listen and agree as Red's pep talk let the light in.

* * *

They were leaving.

Crystal sighed and sat down in the front seat, motioning for the driver to start. Everyone in the bus fell to other things...to pass the time, to ease their fears. Some were asleep, and some were just looking out the window. Apprehensive, tired, serious. The nostalgic sight of Celestic Town was marred by machinery, trying to patch up the damage inside the cave where they were before. Looking back, the girl felt a little regret at not being able to prevent such a disaster.

"Hey, don't worry so much."

Gold was there, tapping her head from the seat behind. She didn't bother to look, merely heaving a heavy breath as if all the world's troubles were on her shoulders. "I can't help it. I am naturally like that."

"Don't be." Gold put his own chin on top of her dark hair, leaning on her seat as he did. His eyes looked far away from where his mind was. "You worry me, ya know that?"

"...You flirt."

"...It didn't work, huh?"

"Nope." Crystal smirked softly. "Thanks."

Apparently the mood in the bus was so depressing that Pearl thought it was time to rehearse.

"When you think of Pokémon, you think of 'types'!" Pearl yelled out of nowhere. Everyone turned to look at him.

"You don't say!" Dia replied, as if by reflex.

"Each Pokémon has a type! There are plenty of types out there! Do you know all of them?"

"Well, not really."

"Why?"

"It's not my 'type' of thing, you see!" That earned the duo a few chuckles.

"Stop with the bad puns!" Pearl hit Dia with his large paper fan, as was part of the act.  
With a funny flourish, Dia reappeared with his signature One-Shot Gag - a Pokéball upon each eye and his back arched in the strangest position while singing, "I'm perfectly okay~!"

Everyone laughed, and the bus seemed a little brighter that day. There were smiles and giggles again as everyone fell to chattering.

Sapphire looked from her window seat and saw two Bug Pokémon flying in the warm morning sun. They were Beautifly and Butterfree, with their glistening eyes and fluttering scaled wings. They seemed to be dancing in the air itself. The girl wished that every heart could always feel like that...free and fluttering and never alone.

She rubbed her stomach meditatively, glowing in pleasure when she felt a touch as light as an eyelash. "You too...little Manaphy?"

"...You said something, Sapph?"

It was Ruby, who had latched on as her seatmate since the beginning of the trip. He seemed to be a different person from the day before, when he caught the Galactic Grunt with Nana. She remembered that aura of battle readiness, devolving somehow and dancing between the lines of bloodlust and righteous anger. Now he seemed perfectly fine, and was now looking at Sapphire with renewed interest.

"Oh, it was nothin'." Sapphire waved it off and laughed lightly. "I was just...talking to myself. Sort of." She shifted her position and looked out the window again. She was a little confused as to why he was suddenly very devoted to her. It made sense, him being the closest one to her of the Pokédex Holders, and with the matter of Manaphy at hand.

But now they barely bicker at all, which was a big block in the foundation of their friendship - perhaps even of her budding love (though, with Ruby avoiding the matter, the girl didn't want to assume anymore). The dark rose eyes were gentler now, the voice less whiny. It was pleasant...

Ruby saw that she was wearing that sundress he bought for her earlier that week. With the day streaming in from the glass and the stillness that had begun to set in her limbs, the girl he had once thought to be so familiar was changing in front of his very eyes.

"Wow..."

"...You said somethin', Ruby?"

The girl was looking straight at him with those honestly disarming jewels of eyes, with a twitch in her lip and a corner of her canine caught in a cute little snaggletooth grin. The coordinator shook his head and grinned lightly, the light in his eyes twinkling as it did. He leaned closer and chuckled.

"Oh, it was nothing."

* * *

"This should do it."

Sird's facial muscles twitched in place of eyebrows as she looked at the years of work she had perfected in one bottle. It rippled opalescent in the mysteriously blank room. Inside the bottle were tiny particles of star-like powder. Remains of the mighty armor "Eternity" itself...

With a great swig, the Rocket Beast drank down a quarter of the elixir. Under the fluorescent lights, she was delighted to see that the marks of age-crow's feet, wrinkles-were beginning to smooth. Her body became fuller and healthier-looking...it was amazing!

"It works!"

The potion had indeed renewed Sird's body back to youth, back to her peak. However the fragments of the Eternity carried a heavy price..._you cannot leave Eternity, lest your body would fall into oblivion_.

But that didn't matter. The power of everlasting life was there, and Sird had grasped it and made it real!

Smirking, the lady motioned to the biped shadow at the corner. Clad in metal and holding what seemed to be a vicious blade, its lavender-gray fur was soft-a contrast to its powerful legs and whip-like tail. It nodded at its master's command and its telekinetic powers activated...

* * *

_Giovanni..._

The man shrouded in darkness flinched. He knew telepathy when he heard it, and he recognized that voice. _Sird,_ he replied calmly. _I wonder what you are up to._

A high-strung cackle resounded as Sird composed her answer. _I have found immortality, Giovanni. I will take the world. I will find eternal death, as I did eternal life. And I shall rule._

The strong features did not even flinch, only growl a little. His teeth were bared in a faint sneer, he answered out loud. "And I shall take that power for myself."

**TBC**


	13. Chapter 13: The Means

_A/N: I must apologize for the huge delay. The end of junior year is more difficult than I thought. I was able to make this a few days after the start of summer vacation. Again sorry for the delay and thank you for reading!_

_Disclaimer: Pokémon Special belongs to Hidenori Kusaka._

_**Chapter 13: The Means**_

"Let's get down to business...to defeat...the Grunts~!"  
"Did you send me poppers...when I asked...for buns~?"

Gold was singing.

"Wait, is that how the song goes?" Silver spluttered. He was pretty sure poppers and buns were not appropriate. He wasn't even entirely sure what a popper _was_.

"I heard it on the radio once, on DJ Ben's hour! He said it was some foreign song for a movie, and they were training, so I thought, yeah!"

The Pokédex Holders were going to train.

Green had said that there were going to be threats to their duties, especially from Team Galactic. He joined Red in gathering all the battlers at the route towards the mountains, where the bus dropped them off. The other trainers were beside them, awaiting any instruction.

"Okay, let's start with warm-up..." Red grinned at his own team, who was already accustomed to his exercises. "A few minutes to stretch, then jumping jacks, toe-touches...pair-offs are later. What else am I missing?"

He looked at Green, who sighed. Everyone else expected him to rebut this "training regimen".

"...Jogging. You forgot jogging."

Never mind.

So everyone, Pokémon and trainer alike, had to do exercises. The jogging was the most difficult part of the first half, since the terrain was rugged enough. It was especially difficult for Emerald, who did not appreciate jogging in his platform shoes. He tripped often, flailing his long-sleeved arms; the young man was stubborn though, and held fast to his gadgets.

The snow-capped peaks of Mt. Coronet were within sight now, and everyone made their way to the entrance of the cave. The temperatures dropped as they approached the entrance, and crumbling white powder was layered on the stone crags.

"It almost looks like a cake, doesn't it?" Blue laughed in her playful way, and Dia perked up when he heard "cake". "A big chocolate layer cake with vanilla and sugar frosting." And it did, with the delicate snowflakes descending from the clouds that might have been whipped cream.

"No time for cake now, silly woman." Green scowled mildly (while Silver huffed) as he followed Red with his Scizor, who already scouted ahead of them with Pika. "We've got a job to do."

Everyone else trailed in: Blue chose her Nidoqueen to accompany her, while Yellow used her Golem. Crystal, Gold and Silver had their Pokéballs at the ready - having all their Pokémon out would impede their progress. Ruby and Emerald went forward, with Dia (thinking that Coronet cake would be peanut butter or mocha instead) and Pearl bringing up the rear and sandwiching Platinum and Sapphire.

Platinum was guiding Sapphire and Rapidash and leading them into the cave. Recently her sense of balance was going out of whack, and she sometimes stumbled and wobbled as she walked. Strangely enough she declined wearing much thick clothing (to Ruby's dismay), saying that she preferred the cold.

Nonetheless Platinum insisted that she ride on Rapidash to keep her warm, to light the way, and to prevent her from tripping over in the cave.

The trainers went on into the unknown.

* * *

Giovanni's heavily bandaged arms and torso were covered by the dark trench coat, though white strips could be seen on his neck. His stern face was shadowed underneath a black fedora, and his steps were slow. His chrome eyes looked beyond the crumbling walls of the Alph Ruins, the ancient structures that once showed great strength. He knew there was a secret passageway that linked Johto to Sinnoh...

Turning towards the Ursaring his son had sent to help him, Giovanni clenched his fists.

"I shall not fail."

* * *

"My, my."

In a forgotten lair of the Team Rocket operatives was a grid of prison cells, used to hold people hostage. It was deserted now, mainly because Team Rocket had been "revived" in Johto. All of the cells were empty and unguarded, but left locked.

Except for one.

Carr was disheveled in his prison cell, swallowed in faded grey clothing, His face was haggard and lined, making him look more like a man shrunken in the wash than ever. He was in chains, and looked listless compared to his normally rude and energetic state. In fact, he was wasting away - left to starve and rot to death.

The tiny man did not bother to look, recognizing the voice immediately. His own was barely a shadow of a whine, like the creaking of the stubborn floorboards. "The new Admins from the Johto region took over."

"I see. I have my own plans for them, I suppose. That is all I need."

In the hazy hungry vision Carr possessed he swore he could see Sird as an angel relative to her demonic appearances. Her face was paler than ever, and her figure (was that her figure? it seemed like slivers of light) was shrouded in fog. Empty, alone, he turned to one of his comrades for the last time as he saw aura emerge from the figure beside her.

At the last moment, he remembered that Orm - the comrade he murdered off the TR helicopter - might have felt the same feeling of realization.

He felt nothing as a dense invisible power enveloped his skin and crushed his lungs until they pumped no more.

Sird looked at the body on the floor for a moment before nodding toward her Pokémon beside her: a monstrous fusion of fur and steel, humming with power that moments before snuffed out Carr's life. It twitched momentarily.

"Perfect, you can kill. Oh, you sense something?"

Sird frowned. "That's probably that idiotic telekinetic bond of yours...but no matter. We shall eliminate that bond...with your own powers."

With a twinkling, they teleported to the crown of Sinnoh.

* * *

"What was that?"

There was a sound in the darkness. A rumble of footsteps coming from the other tunnels. It sounded like a large gathering...Pearl had heard of a rumbling like that before...and that was when...

"Everybody, hide!" The blond boy hissed, motioning for everyone to hide behind the rocks. The walls shook with a presence, and it recalled drills and digging and invasive forces, surging into the mountain.

"Platinum, put Rapidash away, the light-!"

A single flickering flame could give them away. Platinum called her Pokémon back as soon as Sapphire alighted.

But Sapphire was unsteady on her feet at such short notice. She fell to her knees, her palms gripping cold rock before any major impact. Why did she feel so...weak? She kicked up her heels and ran on all fours, hoping to catch up.

Until all of a sudden, she felt herself being eerily raised into the air by a strange force. The force compressed harder until she couldn't move her arms, her legs...and she was suspended into the air.

Yellow felt a familiar tingle in her heart, and she knew that she recognized that psychic power...

Abruptly a deep rumbling grew in the mountain as landslides were triggered. Huge boulders suddenly fell and blocked the entrances of all the tunnels.

The Pokédex holders avoided the tumbling rocks and grouped together, drawing out their Pokémon. The Healer flew upward carried on Butterfree wings toward Sapphire.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, dear."

A barrier materialized and rammed the girl away, denting the scaled wings. She plummeted downward but was caught by Green, who was able to catch her thanks to his strength in martial arts.

Blue, enraged, roared at the source of the voice. "Show yourself, you coward! We can fight!"

A high-strung cackle reflected off the caverns and a familiar grey figure appeared. Silver's insides clenched when he saw Sird, willowy and cold, standing close to the ledge close to Sapphire's helpless form.

But what really horrified the group was an armored Pokémon with a whip-like tail, holding the psychic prison in the air and barring the entrances with its powers.

With a strangled voice, Red's scarlet eyes widened as he saw that familiar form.

"...Mewtwo?"

_**TBC**_


	14. Chapter 14: The Strike

_A/N: This...took me a while to think about. We're building up towards a big scene-please enjoy!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special._

**Chapter 14: The Strike**

Scarlet eyes scanned the heavy brown walls, sliding from side to side. "We're caved in-"

"Obviously to prevent us from proceeding," Saturn snapped smoothly. "Why else would those boulders fall precisely at the entrances?" He puffed out a wispier cigarette-trail from his lips, looking like a very disgruntled dragon.

The whole of Team Galactic was within the tunnels combing the inside of Mount Coronet. They were armed with drilling equipment and nets, as well as steel cables and sealing containers meant to restrain Pokémon. Their researchers had found a strong reading of marine energy there: one of the three nature powers was hidden there.

Mar's expression was stormy at best. Her eyebrows made a dark hint of anger in her face, and her body was taut as a bowstring. Trembling, poised, ready to attack. All it needed was a single movement.

"I've had enough of your put-downs, you ungrateful bastard. You're not the boss of me."

A declaration of war.

Without warning her Purugly charged toward Saturn, its bulky gray body hissing and clawing at him. It took only a split second for Saturn to retaliate with his own Toxicroak, pouncing from its Pokéball directly at the enemy.

The purple frog swerved to the right and charged its paw at Purugly's ribs, in a roughly served Brick Break attack. The cat creature hissed and pounced backward, panting heavily from the effective blow.

Changing course, it ran toward Saturn himself, claws out ready to mangle his face. Saturn grabbed the Purugly by the fur collar and flung it at his own Pokémon, who assailed it with a Sucker Punch square in the chest.

The Purugly fainted on the spot. Mars snarled in frustration and lunged at Saturn. The young man sidestepped her rushed attack and grabbed her arms, twisting them behind her back. Leaning forward his pale lips whispered in the woman's tan ear, his words like smoky velvet.

"You are valuable to us, Mars. You know Team Rocket better than anyone in the organization - one of their Admins is your relative, correct? However..."

And here Saturn turned cold. "If I sense any threat to our operation coming from you at all, I will personally see to it that you are eliminated from our team." The curled fingers tightened its grip momentarily before unclasping themselves. "We must concentrate on the task at hand: to capture the water Legendary and to eliminate the threat of the Pokédex Holders."

Coolly, the young man turned away only to find a Grunt running in his direction. Her aquamarine hair was stained with soot, and her expression was worried. Something had obstructed their path. A problem with the machinery, perhaps.

"Sir, something has stalled our operation! Our drilling equipment has been damaged!"

Saturn followed the girl to the wall they were digging at and found her report to be true.

The drill points they had used were broken and worn down, the chisels and jackhammers dented. The tunnel they had cleared was halfway done though...Saturn threw his cigarette into the mouth of the tunnel. It arched across the air before it burst into flames, sparking against an unknown thing.

"A destructive barrier."

Mars looked at the blip emitting from her scanner - the blip that she had been tracking since the underground tunnels of Galactic had an unwelcome visitor.

"To keep us from interfering."

* * *

"Mewtwo!"

Red's strangled voice echoed throughout the rock cave. Was that the same Pokémon that disappeared in the mysterious beam of light years ago?

The genetic Pokémon twitched at the familiar voice. The metal casing around its head, arms and legs trembled as the Pokémon struggled to regain its will.

Its powers held firm, however, and Sapphire remained trapped in a psychic vice grip. "Best not squirm. We don't want you too battered up." Sird looked up at the girl floating helpless in the air. Standing on her Starmie, the Rocket Beast hovered over them all. "It's no use. Mewtwo answers only to me."

Emerald had a chill crawl up in his spine. Controlling Pokémon against their will...that madness in their eyes...and knowledge of Manaphy...it seemed so familiar.

Gold caught onto this too. He had a devilish look on his face, "You were the crazy bat who gave Archie the armor and sword, didn't you? You told him of the legendary Pokémon of the ocean, too!"

Sird shook a reproving finger at them and gave them a skewered smile. "Oh, very clever of you. I had learned of the creature myself under Giovanni." She batted her eyes at Sapphire trapped in Mewtwo's grip. "And the spike of marine energy our sensors are detecting is...curious. I wonder if it has anything to do with this girl? Let's see..."

Suddenly Sapphire began to gasp for air, and her skin grew cold. Before the Pokédex Holders' eyes, she was being strangled by Mewtwo's fierce psychokinetic abilities.

"_No!_"

Before any battle cry was sent out, Ruby was already in motion: his Mightyena attacked the genetic Pokémon head on, snarling and snapping its jaws; Blue's Wigglytuff had inflated to cushion Sapphire's fall. Green's Scizor and Silver's Honchkrow followed Nana, knowing that one Pokémon's efforts alone were not enough.

With a swipe of its master's hand Mewtwo leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the canine's teeth. It materialized a huge spoon out of psychokinetic energies to block the metal claws aimed at it. The Honchkrow followed up, its talons bared and ready. The three creatures clashed in mid-air as Mewtwo unleashed an explosive field of power around itself - the force of impact rocked the cave.

The ceiling nearly shook open, as if the whole mountain shuddered around them. Huge fragments of the walls began to fall, like rain. Dust flew in huge clouds, obscuring everyone's view as rockslides poured in from the cavernous walls. A chaotic, choking, struggle to survive that seemed to last far too long .

The teenagers ran to dodge the falling boulders, scattering as they did. No one saw Sird teleport away with Mewtwo to escape. In the clash, they had lost sight of each other; as the whole mountain shook and fell their cries and shouts were useless.

And in a moment that seemed like forever, everything was still.

* * *

Red looked around in the darkness.

From the fierce effort of his eyes he was able to see the faint outline of the cave. The splitting pain in his left arm meant, at least, that he was alive. He tried wiggling the injured hand's fingers, then gingerly flexed the whole arm - the stabbing pain and warm blood trickling down told him to stop. Some rock must have nailed him hard.

He heard Ruby and Pearl were coughing, scrambling to free themselves from the rocks. They seemed to have noticed their senior, and were hurrying to him the best they could. They called out to him in near-whispers; in the dimness Red could hear their heavy breathing, and he could make out bruises and scratches on them.

Then, Red heard Ruby's PokeNav ring.

He heard a faint sobbing sound that he recognized was Crystal's and motioned for the two juniors to investigate. Pearl ran ahead, worried that she might be crushed to death. Ruby handed over his PokeNav and followed the blond to another side of the cave.

"Red...? Who else are safe?"

It was Platinum. Her voice was faint but calm.

"Crys, Ruby, and Pearl are here. Who are with you, Platinum?"

"Sapphire...and Silver as well...Green is trying to drill a way out for us."

"What about Blue? Gold and Dia, Emerald?...Yellow?"

"I have not seen them...they must be separated from us."

A muffled sound of grinding metal echoed through the tunnels...metal that could not have possibly been Green, trying to dig their group out.

The Battler's mind immediately flickered back to the danger in Celestic Town - back to that man with the strange equipment...he had been able to follow them...

Red's voice was urgent, a direct order: "Listen to me carefully: I think Team Galactic is in the mountain right now. I bet they were able to track us down with Manaphy's energy, too. Head to Snowpoint City; we'll follow you from another route. So long as we are all together, we'll be severely pressed for time. A smaller group can move faster, and be more discreet."

"And what about you?"

"We've got to destroy Galactic's tracking machines first...And if possible, find the others."

"Not in that condition, you fool."

It was Green on the line now, and he was venomous at the idea. "You're probably all banged up from the attack, too...so get out of there first!" His voice was a snarl at his friend's stupidity.

"We should at least try to find the others!" Red spat back, anxious not to argue now of all times. He could feel the faintness in Green's voice, too...

There was silence, then an angry huff. "...All right. We'll been out soon. But keep yourself and the others alive, you idiot."

The line went dead.

Red chuckled dryly to himself when he saw the three emerge from the darkness.

Pearl supported Crystal's head and Ruby her legs as they carried her. Carefully, they laid her down on the ground and collapsed on the ground themselves. Red could see a little more clearly now that they were near each other. Their clothes were torn in some places, and bruises glowed black and purple in the exposed flesh. Pearl had multiple scars on his hands (presumably, from trying to dig his way out), and Ruby's old scar seemed to have reopened a little - blood was mingling with the scarlet of his eye.

"Crys...?"

The girl looked away from Red's concerned voice, almost ashamed to show her face. She sucked on a cut on her bottom lip and dried tears on her face. Her skin was deathly white and her fists were clenched.

The girl's lower body had suffered the brunt of the cave collapsing: bound by Pearl's long green scarf, the bones of her lower limbs had shattered, bleeding and useless in the accident. Shuddering, Crystal began to cry in earnest - not just out of pain, but of sorrow.

Her legs - her greatest weapons - were broken.

**TBC…**


	15. Chapter 15: The Weakness

_A/N: Sorry for the lateness. Please enjoy the latest chapter! And, feedback is appreciated always. :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special._

**Chapter 15: The Weakness**

"Nothing is working?"

Mars roared; her wounded pride did nothing for her temper. The scientists were wildly checking their scanners, their capturing equipment. All broken, all tweaked and malfunctioned. Scorch marks from electrical fires. Frozen wires. Crushed consoles. The personnel trembled under the redhead's anger, cowed by a system where people were to follow absolutely.

Her anger permeated every syllable that was directed at the man in the white-metal suit. "Sabotage, Saturn! This worthless machinery will take forever to haul away. People will find out about Team Galactic again, and our plans will be foiled."

Coldly now, the woman turned away and stared into the walls. Perhaps willing that one stray boulder would crush the leader's skull.

Saturn looked around and checked the barrier-blocked passage. The insides of the cavern seemed to have crushed under its own weight. He could see huge boulders, still-falling dust...

And a sign that comforted him.

"Move out as much of the machinery as possible immediately. Destroy any stragglers. We have more at the base. Now that part of the threat of the - ah, children - has been eliminated, we can concentrate on opening the doorway once more."

"But - the water energy!"

"Substitutes. The Phione colonies have moved northward as the scans have shown. Big enough numbers should replicate the effect."

He smiled now, confident. "This coincides perfectly with our attempts at finding the Grass nature power." His white boots sounded a note stronger as he reached for a lighter

The Grunts murmured their assent and began extricating the machines from the tunnels. Mars was still upset, but decided to shut up about it first, After all, the plan's goal was to get Master Cyrus back...And she was pleased to know that one more obstacle was out of their way.

Following Saturn, she turned to look at what made him so hopeful.

Irises of luscious cherry flicked toward a tiny shred of woven straw, ringed with ribbon and worn brown with the sun. It was crushed flat, under a boulder, and it took a minute for Mars to recognize it.

It was the brim of a child's hat.

* * *

"Jubilife?"

"That's right," Ruby grunted as he shifted himself to a more comfortable position. "There's a hospital there, and you have arrangements at the TV station. We talked about it while we were thinking about how to pull you out of here as quickly as possible."

The four teenagers were seated in a ring on the earthen floor. In the silence that hung about them they had been reduced to soft words and gentle tones, almost to dull the sharpness and reality of the situation they were facing.

"Right, I forgot. I'm useless." Crystal laughed, hoarse and bitter. "I'll probably drag you down if I stay."

Her fists clenched tighter as she tried to raise her upper body from the ground. Her elbows wobbled violently - was she weaker than she had thought? Red leaned close and steadied her as she was forced to sit upright again.

Pearl sent out his Luxray, Raylord, to help carry Crystal. The soft black fur bristled at the surroundings, as if perceiving danger. His trainer proudly showed to his capped companion how strong his Pokémon had been in wreaking havoc with some heavy equipment they found a while back. Out of habit, Ruby picked out a tiny pebble from its mane.

"You are not useless. You know we'll need you, and you can help us while your legs heal." Red grinned, a blossoming bruise at the corner of his mouth. He extended his palm towards the girl and let her see his gift to her.

It was a small metallic thing, around a couple of inches long and protected by a cracked plastic casing. "We found this while we were wrecking the Galactic's machines. It might give us a clue on what to do next."

Squinting, Crystal could see that it was a flash disk. It felt cold and dusty in her hand. She turned it over a couple of times before stowing it away in her bag, smiling inwardly. At least she wouldn't be bored to death...her destination made sense now.

"Okay. I'll get to this and send the data as soon as I can."

"Atta girl." And Red smiled.

With difficulty, Crystal was able to mount Pearl's Luxray while the blond trainer stood close by. Ruby and Red covered the rear, hurrying them along as the sounds of crashing and grinding grew ominously louder. They couldn't risk being discovered in their condition, and perhaps being thought dead would be better.

They ran.

The maze of heavy grey stones flew behind them now, and the entrance was only a few feet away. The sky outside was singed with light. Each step propelled them further, each lungful of air fuelling their escape.

And after a while, the sky opened up to them.

"We...should rest..." Red wheezed, his breathing growing heavier. Adrenaline - the body's natural pain-killer - was fading fast, and each wound bled a little more with each passing moment. He thought hard...shelter, and somewhere to recover near here. Right...where was 'here'?

"Where...are we...?"

Pearl gasped, exhausted. "The route...closest to Eterna City." The wooden bridges were familiar, and so was the flowing blue water underneath them. The trees blurred together as they continued on; the great metal statue marked the beginnings of civilization.

A loud pop of a plastic sphere signaled the release of a Pokémon. The creature spread its cookie-cutter wings and grasped at Crystal's shoulders, unblinking black eyes turned toward the clouds. The girl felt herself being lifted from the leonine body, and she saw the long piece of fabric around her legs wave like a banner.

Red and Pearl lifted themselves on Raylord in her stead, but Ruby ran on with blasts of air from his Running Shoes. His movements made the freshly reopened wound trickle again, and he blinked to keep the crimson fluid out of his eyes. His eyes sent a singular message that echoed to Crystal, resonating with Red and Pearl's own expressions.

_Go. We're counting on you._

Crystal nodded and held on tight as her Xatu's bullet-shaped body shot into the air and out of sight.

* * *

With a fierce punch from its iron claw, Green's Scizor rammed through the remains of the wall and made the mouth of the tunnel larger.

He let Platinum and Sapphire through first lest the tunnel cave in on them; the Rapidash's flickering flames licked the walls with honeyed light. It threw importance on the sadly crumbling stairs and broken bridges that had laced between Mt. Coronet's innards.

Green looked back toward another blockage. A while ago Gold and Emerald were running for cover from the cave-in there, as well as the others. His knuckles rammed against the rubble as he called out to the other group just east of the rocks.

_Crack_.

That didn't sound like a fortunate sign. Disgruntled as it was, Green's voice was loud as it rang through the rubble.

"Don't die."

And tired as he was, he pressed his ear to the coldness and heard familiar murmuring lips joke.

"Who said we would die?"

Already Green could envision the speaker, infuriatingly confident and happy, a noisy ray of sunshine entombed under rocks. He had half the mind to huff, as was his manner, at this lighthearted yet reassuring response. But fatigue and injury had dulled his strength, and he slumped to the ground. His split knuckles stung at the cold air, and his bruises were darkening with every moment.

A familiar head of burgundy greeted his haze of tiredness and he felt chilly black wrap gingerly around his waist, hoisting him upward the best he could. Slowly the two young men picked their way out of the cave and into the outside world.

"They're safe," Green managed to say. "All of them are there."

His junior nodded and forged onward. "We were waiting. You could have asked for help." Silver looked out into the falling formlessness of the snow outside. It did nothing to dull the possible irony of his words. "...Maybe one of those rocks hit me too hard on the head." And Green actually laughed a little at this.

This...did not seem normal, Silver concluded. For Green, the ardent stoic, anyway. His expression was readable still, and the stoic noticed this and chuckled.

"That's one thing I'm not, Silver."

"Pardon?"

"Bulletproof. No one is."

And they both lapsed into silence.

* * *

Blue called out to the others. "That was Green a while ago. Are you all okay?"

"Very dirty...but fine." Yellow answered back. She was a little shaken but luckily unscathed thanks to her Golem, save for a cut on the forehead (from a stray rock). Emerald was dirty, and his long clothes were torn at by the sharp bits of gravel that flew around at his was tending to Diamond, who seemed to be knocked unconscious from the commotion. The Healer giggled when he emitted a particularly strong snore. He seemed to be alright as well, and not disturbed at all by the sound of Green's efforts to free them.

The youth from Johto wasn't doing so well, though. Aside from the standard escape knocks Gold's shoulder was dislocated, and he was wincing in pain while he taught his junior how to pop it back in. He proceeded to squeal like a Grumpig at every movement of Emerald's forceful yet tiny hands.

"AGH, be careful! That hurts, man!"

"Well, I've never done this before! What if I just..."

"YAAAGH!" Gold shrieked and clutched his shoulder, miraculously popped back. "You're never going to be my chiropractor, you hear?"

Everyone (save Dia) laughed hard. It did wonders to raise everyone's spirits. The Hatcher saw this and was pleased to see that everyone was doing alright. "In a moment of darkness, all one needs to do is to light a match and spread the light, eh? Although, not always on my expense!"

Blue grinned at this strangely philosophic side. The eldest of them all was rightfully grimy, and an impressive collection of scrapes gave her an interesting glow of adventure. She wiped the dirt from her nose and pumped a fist into the air.

"Alright, everyone. We're busting out of here, and as an experienced prison-escapee I can tell you all that this cave-in isn't so bad. Let's get outta this Arceus-forsaken hole in the dirt!"

And everyone (save Dia) cheered and joined in clambering up to freedom.

* * *

"Thank you for accommodating us."

The lady in the cottage nodded as she set down the tray with cups of leaf-green tea on the table. Platinum smiled and pulled rolls of bandages out of her bag, enough to cover all of their wounds. Green's battered hand was probably the most graphic, all busted up from knocking back debris himself. Platinum had a few wounds on her arms and legs that were already scabbing over, and Silver had an interesting cut that stretched across his thigh through his pants.

"A scratch," Silver clarified. "It's just a scratch."

_Drip, drip_. The dark red spot on the sepia mat was getting blotchy and dry.

"Nothing a little bleach won't fix. But mountain-climbing, really..."

And the old woman shook her head as if it couldn't be helped. That was the reckless way of youth, and it was best to get it out of the system when possible. Left to their tea, the three trainers immediately fell into a hushed conversation.

"Red's out by now, and if he's still got his wits, he'd have probably found help."

"Who was with him?"

"Ruby, Pearl and Crystal. Her legs...they were badly injured, but they're closest to a cave entrance."

"Blue and the others are safe too, back in the mountain. They'll probably head east, you say?"

"That's the impression I got."

"Where's Sapphire? Is she okay?"

"A few bumps, but otherwise fine. She's sleeping in the bed."

Indeed Sapphire was lying down and resting, but she was far from being asleep.

She distinctly shivered at the feel of a huge rock slashing her forearm wide open, and her hip being hit hard. Far from a few bumps at all.

But as soon as she saw blood gush out of her limb her flesh congealed blue and healed instantly. The pain did not fade, but the damage was gone.

_An effect of Manaphy's power?_ She looked down at her wrist that should have been raw open muscle, and saw whole skin instead.

Whole skin, while Crystal was effectively paralyzed. While Silver's blood dripped quietly on the floor.

Why, why was she so cursed? To have probably one of the most miraculous healing properties on earth and not be able to save your friends? The brunette's voice cracked into a whisper.

"I can't bear seeing them hurting."

These words she directed to her Blaziken, who had come out on her own accord and was watching over Sapphire in her "slumber". Toro made no sound, only ruffled her warmth in the face of the blinding storm. Her fierce golden feathers rimmed her decidedly composed blue eyes, her beak clicking in an almost understanding manner. It listened to its trainer's emotional, slightly accented words.

"I won't leave. Not when they're sacrificing so much for me. But I don't want them getting hurt any more 'cause of me. You know..."

The young woman turned to her companion, and Toro was surprised to see unshed tears in her trainer's eyes. The pale lips were smiling and brittle, and her head was sinking deeper into the pillow. Her white hand - the Pokémon was worried at how white the girl was becoming - hung from the mattress, and the Blaziken's warm claws held it in a comforting grip.

Toro stayed like that until at last Sapphire fell asleep.

_**TBC...**_


	16. Chapter 16: The Effort

_A/N: Just sent my application forms for college. *flails* Wish Batch 2011 luck..._  
_Hmmm...Not sure how Black and White will be integrated here in the manga. And I'm not really digging the new girl that is scheduled to replace Dawn. Even if I'm not an avid TV show watcher._  
_By the way, this fanfic is open to all suggestions. :3_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special.**_

**Chapter 16: The Effort**

It had been three days since the plaster had hardened around Crystal's battered legs.

She was sitting upright, a small notebook computer on her lap. The Capturer had insisted on having something to decode the data with, and with her leg problems this was the best the hospital staff could provide her. Her fingers typed furiously as she tried to decode the data Red had given her, the process going excruciatingly slow. Next to her bed was her Smoochum, cooing and squeaking in her company.

The girl found the files blooming on her screen. Scanning them carefully, her expression of triumph morphed into one of confusion, comprehension, and fear. Her throat went dry as she scanned through the tangles of numbers and words.

_...-drain nature powers of Sinno-_  
_-rate of progress:43%-_  
_-open gateway at Spear Pillar-_  
_-captured: Heatran; next target: Shay-_  
_-marine power level increase:325%-_  
_-target location: unknown-..._

"Ugh."

She leaned back on the sterile cold pillows and exhaled heavily. Crystal's body was still, trying to calm the storm that was her thoughts. The data was scrambling to get a foothold in her mind: a plan to reopen the gateway at Spear Pillar, and to do so the nature powers were needed. Heatran was captured, Shaymin was next, and Manaphy's whereabouts were safe since it was tricky to track.

Her tiredness was like lead over her head, and her vibrant violet eyes screwed closed. Migraine.

"Chee?"

Chumee looked at Crystal with concern. The small pink Smoochum bounced and wiggled around, and that cheered the girl up enormously. "Yeah, I know, I should relax more." Her hand reached for the PokeGear on the bedside table. "I'll just call Professor Oak. Tell him about what we've found."

And slowly she began to punch the numbers in.

Until the PokeGear rang itself. Confused, Crystal pressed "answer" before checking who it was.

"Yeah, hello? Yes, I'd like to order a Miltank-cheese pizza, extra mushrooms..."

"...Gold?"

"…What? Wait, cancel the mushrooms and add plenty of chili - Rald, you dig chili, right? And, um..."

"Gold."

"Can we make that an extra large? One, two, three, around twenty-one slices ought to do it..."

"Gold!"

There were three peals of raucous laughter, ringing merrily through the receiver. "Well, you're pretty hi-energy for someone who's out of commission on the field! Although it still sounds like you could kick my keister telepathically...so, how's the situation holding up at your side?"

Crystal sighed, actually relieved to hear a familiar voice. "Okay. My legs are on the mend, and the boys with me were able to scramble to Eterna. Platinum's group is at Snowpoint already, and without any complications, thank goodness. What about you guys?"

"Well, we landed back in Celestic Town after the whole mountain fiasco, stupidly enough. We are going east though, so now we are en route to Veilstone! Then we got hungry, and we called you for pizza...and here we are now!"

A few murmurs wormed around, and Gold finally added. "Oh, and we're all okay, by the way."

"Good. I've got a job for you."

"Wait, what? But what about our pizza? I like those delectable salami slices..."

"Listen, it's about Galactic's plans! They've been collecting the Legendary Pokémon's powers to open the gateway to the Spear Pillar again. And right now they've got one of them, Heatran, imprisoned. They'll be targeting Shaymin next, and conveniently you're pretty close to the Pokémon League building to start the trip..."

* * *

It was quiet in the Super Contest Halls, and Fantina sighed as she stirred the milk tea in her cup.

Her amethyst gaze was far away, although her guest Juan was just next to her. The contests for the day were over, and the other coordinators were milling around the TV for the news report. Fantina didn't care much for the news.

Rather, she was frightened to look at it.

The man was not as thoughtful, and was only acutely aware of the other Gym Leader's tenseness. He merely smiled and asked, "_Je ne comprends pas_...Why are you so glum, mademoiselle?" He began twirling his mustache with his finger, waiting for her reply.

"_Je suis désolé_...I was simply thinking about the children. Like everyone else." She motioned to the other people in the building: Professor Oak and Birch were watching the news on TV, discussing what had happened several days ago. Wallace was looking at the portraits of the Super Contest entries, but apparently lost in thought. Misty, Morty, and Blaine were chatting about the sights of Sinnoh, with the new Battle Frontier a hot topic. Byron and Jasmine were comparing Steel-type tactics, and Clair was reading a magazine in the corner.

Winona was quiet, looking out the window. She smiled a little and shook her head politely when Fantina offered her tea some time earlier. "I'm alright, thank you," she had said, before lapsing into worry. And Juan clucked his tongue at the idea.

"You cannot blame her, _Monsieur_ Juan. She is like a mother-figure to Sapphire." The slim lady stirred a little more before taking the cup to her lips. She daintily dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before continuing. "Isn't it natural? After all, your own disciple is there too. Aren't you very worried?"

_"Non."_  
_"Non? Je ne comprends pas!"_

"Do not misunderstand, my dear Fantina, but I believe in them enough." He reached for another biscuit and took another mouthful of tea. He smiled as he put down his cup and said, "They are powerful. They are brave. We will help if they ask it, no mistake. But only if they ask for it, and they are willing to do whatever we ask of them to succeed."

A thoughtful pause.

Fantina's purple head bobbed with laughter. "Oh, I suppose Wallace was a difficult disciple before, _oui_?" She took another look at the Hoenn Champion, who seemed like such a perfect gentleman: courteous, graceful, and selfless. She could barely imagine him in some of Ruby's rumored tantrums and hissy fits.

The black-haired gentleman nodded and chuckled. "_Oui_, a very stubborn young man when he first came to me, brilliant but with a temper as prickly as thistles! But I helped him because he asked for it, and now he can stand on his own. It's the same with the children, you see."

"I see." And Fantina's smile was serene as she tipped the sugar bowl towards him.

The woman on the burning screen went on. "-Until now, the tunnels within the Coronet mountain range are still being cleared. Several days ago the passageways collapsed suddenly; fortunately no casualties were reported. Oh, wait-"

The blond newscaster nodded at her earpiece and continued. "This just in: there has been evidence that shows that the cave-in was man-made. Construction workers over at Mount Coronet have found machinery at the scene. They appear to be excavation equipment..."

The whispers of Coordinators were particularly restless at this new information. Among them was a woman with dark jeans and a tab of bubblegum between her teeth. She was thinking this piece of information over to herself, particularly about that strange label on that machine. It looked like the sign of a building that she had seen before?

Courtney grinned and placed her hands on her hips, running her tongue over her lips in anticipation. It did make her curious to know why so many Gym Leaders were in the Super Contest Hall recently...She could smell something suspicious, and she was not a woman who would turn away from this kind of show. Her Ninetales looked at her expectantly, reading her thoughts.

_Agh. It's always something, eh?_

The fox creature blinked. It was already on its paws, ready for the road ahead. Together, both woman and Pokémon left the building.

* * *

Sapphire looked on at the cold, cold ocean and felt herself sinking into a mental oblivion.

She, along with Platinum and Green and Silver, had arrived at Snowpoint a couple of days ago. The Gym Leader Candace was kind enough to find them a place to stay, a humble two-bedroom cottage in the snow. They were very cautious, looking out for any suspicious activity that may be sign of their enemies. Silver was assigned to care for Sapphire, since his Weavile was most comfortable in the presence of bitter cold.

But one of the dangers that threatened Sapphire the most was herself. Her body was getting colder and frailer little by little. In her state, she could easily freeze to death. It didn't help that she was getting lethargic, bound by shackles of exhaustion.

"That's why you've got to talk to her," Green had explained, preparing to check the perimeter of the city again.

He was speaking to Silver before the redhead would go with Sapphire on her morning walk. Platinum was trying to contact the professors, sitting on a cushion at the table in the middle of the room. "Keep her awake, or she might freeze. Who knows what will happen then."

Silver's mouth was a thin line on his pale face. "I'm...not much of a talker." His black coat didn't feel as cumbersome than it was in the warmer south, and his gloves were back on the hands that pinched the insides of his pockets. "You know that."

"Neither am I. But you've got to keep her awake somehow."

And so Silver was there, holding Sapphire's ungloved hand. Strangely enough she found it comfortable to keep it bare. The cold felt refreshing, she said. The two of them were looking out at the wind scarring the waves and knocking at the boats.

And one of them was attempting at conversation.

"...So...um...huh..."

The boy rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. What was he gonna say? The weather? The view? Something? _Blue, Gold and Emerald made it sound so easy._

"Did you know that dreams make their home in the sky?"

Silver's eyebrows went up with surprise at this statement, but he went along with it. Who was he to question convenience? He turned his chrome eyes toward the ships.

"I...didn't know that."

"They do." Sapphire smiled and felt the tiny snowflakes dance around them. "My mama told me a story about them, when I was little. Dreams live in the clouds, and they are very light, invisible things. You have to be very still, and your heart has to be open to catch one."

"I see."

The girl cocked her head at Silver's voice and grinned. "Sorry about that. You can laugh, it does sound silly." She tugged at his hand, and the two began to walk toward the big yellow crane near the docks. Weavile ran ahead, its black and red fur bobbing up and down.

The redhead smiled back a little. "No. I like the idea. It sounds nice." Weavile chirruped in approval and Sapphire laughed, leaving Silver's hand and trotting onward to grab one of the creature's paws.

"I feel so happy today!" She grinned even wider and patted her tummy, which was gradually getting larger. "Maybe Manaphy's just as cheerful, because it feels really good in the cold!"

Silver couldn't help himself, and the brunette saw the corner of his mouth turn. Her hand dropped the sharply curved paw. "Oh no, did I worry you?"

She stretched out and yawned loudly, shivering a little. "I'll be just fine, Silver. See?" And she skipped a little circle with Weavile, to show this was true. The black creature actually squealed in surprise, spinning along with her. Silver would never dance in the snow with it like _this!_

"It's not that...exactly. Silver followed them, stepping his pace up a fraction. "It's just that...doesn't that hurt somehow? Isn't the egg heavy or something?"

"Well, now that you mention it, my back is kinda sore."

Sapphire stopped right in front of the fencing around the crane, gripping the rails with disregard for the cold. "It did hurt when it was absorbed into me, but not very much. Kinda like a hot candle that presses into your skin. For a moment, anyway!"

She added that last part hastily at the young man's stricken look, waving her hands to dissuade any doubts on his part.

"Ouch."

Sapphire laughed loud at this, leaning back on the railings. Her new coat was deep blue, and downy on the inside. She dug her fingers inside and clapped them together to keep them from numbing over. "Ouch is right, ya know!" Her grey-brown hair was spilling from under her cap that matched the coat just so. Silver noticed this and pointed it out.

"That's from Ruby."

"Yeah," the young woman admitted, and Silver thought he saw a brush of rose on her pallid cheeks. "How'd you know? Was the style too girly for me?"

Silver's memory flashed back to that day at the department store, with the huge red discounts and the even redder nail marks on Ruby's arms wrapped by scores of plastic bags. He shook his head, stifling a grin. "I was his...um...helper when he bought it. He really knows what you would like, I guess."

The ocean drifted between her thoughts and wishes. For a minute, she thought she saw a glittering rose-colored body snake its way past the waves. It was just a daydream that was a wish.

"Yeah. He does."

_**TBC...**_


	17. Chapter 17: The Fall

_A/N: Such...a hard chapter to scrape...*dies of block*. I hope you enjoy. And happy Eid ul-Fitr/End of Ramadan to y'all. :)_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special.**_

_**Chapter 17: The Fall**_

Gold was pretty certain about Crystal's instructions from before:

_"You, Blue, Emerald and Dia can start protecting the pathway that leads to Shaymin, in the east."_

Nonetheless, the young man found it easier to persistently ask about what he already knew.

It was becoming dusky now, and he could see the scattered ridges of land from Victory Road carpeted with gold-green grass. It had been three days since Crystal answered his pizza delivery call, and those three days have been spent quietly traveling on the path that led to the Pokémon League. He, Emerald, Dia, and Blue were going towards Shaymin's refuge, rumored to be beyond the northeast borders.

"Remind me again why we are going this way, would'ja please?" Gold sighed to the older girl leading the group, his amber eyes focused on a portion of her form. It was wrapped in a bright red skirt, seductively gracing her bottom...not exactly easy to ignore when it's dancing in one's line of sight.

"Crys sent us here to deal with protecting Shaymin while Galactic thinks we're dead." Blue replied, not even batting an eyelash at the unconscious subtle wiggling of her hips that grew more exaggerated as the terrain became rougher.

"And why do they think we're dead?"

"I buried Yellow's hat in the rock slide to confuse them. After all, deceiving and being deceived and...you know all that!"

She kicked back a little on her last step, sending a little clump of grass at Gold's entranced face.

"Ack!"

She pouted cheekily and crossed her arms in an un-Bluesy way. "Pervert!"

Yellow mumbled something and bowed her head, making Blue laugh. The brunette patted her friend's shoulder and hid a giggle behind her hand. "Don't worry about the hat, you're much cuter without it, darling! It's quite unfathomable how anyone would think you are a boy, cute as you are!"

Gold snorted, remembering how stupid his senior Red was around the topic (though it was as vague to nearly everyone else at the time). Yellow's reactions were observable, though, and the whole group was aware of how positively smitten the petite Trainer was. Except for the object of her affections, apparently.

The Healer was with them, preparing to depart later on to go to where she was assigned.

"D-Don't laugh!" Yellow said in an embarrassed squeak, her golden hair streaming behind her and her cheeks a burning scarlet. The younger Emerald saw her fluster and laughed anyway, trotting behind her on his platforms. Beside him was Diamond, looking slightly disoriented from his knock on the head, but quite as serene as he always was.

He continued to smile as the senior girl ran a few steps ahead, throwing her Pokéball in the air. "I-I better go and check ahead, before I leave..."

Yellow's Butterfree emerged in a dusting of scales, automatically grasping its trainer with its periwinkle claws. Together they flew forward and upward into the gently brightening sky. The trees were clumped together often, but the view was getting clearer. She found her target northeast of her view. "There it is...just a few hundred meters more."

On that tiny scrap of land that seemed like Sinnoh's shrunken twin was a huge white stone. Beyond that white stone was a stream of peaceful notions that attracted Yellow like flame to a Mothim.

Although from her eyes she could see nothing beyond the stone but ocean, her inner senses felt entirely different. She called to the others below her, her voice clear as a bell.

"Good luck."

And with a nod, she flew off towards the Battle Frontier.

* * *

_"Green, Silver, Sapphire and Platinum must stay in Snowpoint until Manaphy is ready to reveal itself."_  
_  
"And us...?"_  
_  
"You, along with Red and Ruby, have to go on to Stark Mountain. Don't worry, I've sent for some help."_

"Oh great," Pearl said flatly, recalling his conversation with Crystal. "More mountain."

The three of them were, indeed, staring at another colossus of stone. The ash falling from its mouth was drifting in slow warm grey drifts...an anomaly Pearl had noticed earlier on their trip. Now that they were up close, the lack of energy left an unpleasant look on the young man's face.

Red frowned at this, although it could be because he was getting pretty tired of rocks nowadays. "Well, Crys knows we've got a job here to do. Let's get to it, I guess." He was wary of his bandaged arm, but still kept it close to his belt. This was a lot more dangerous than Mount Coronet, and they all had to be alert.

Ruby was close by, surprisingly trying not to fuss over how dirty he was getting with all the ash falling around him. It was difficult, however, as the little dirty spots all over simply irked the boy to no end.

He was looking at the sky and was silently cursing them for ruining his clothes when he saw a shape of lavender and blue flutter towards them. "Look over there!"

The little blue shape was fluttering with some difficulty, as the ash was still making it troublesome for travel. As they approached the boys saw who it was: Yellow, carried by her Butterfree's wings, was their help. She was quite a sight, descending from the graying skies with her golden hair streaming down instead of being hidden.

Touching down, she was received with many questions: how did their group escape, how were their friends, and what was the present situation.

Shyly Yellow answered them with her chiming tone, calming Pearl's nerves with the news of Dia's safety and dissuading their fears for their friends. She stared at the mountain as they informed her of the plan, and her soft face steeled itself. She looked at Red, and for a moment she was not as shy anymore. The young man nodded and stepped forward.

And together, the group of four braved through, the ash falling like snow.

* * *

At Snowpoint, Platinum was with Sapphire by the harbor.

More and more frequently, Sapphire had been visiting the ocean's side. It seemed to become her favorite spot, although it worried the other three Pokédex Holders that she liked straying close to the water's edge. Several times already Green had to pull her back from diving headfirst into the water. It didn't help that she often fell asleep, too.

Now Platinum was with her, coaxing her into eating warmer foods, and covering herself up more. They were looking out at the white clouds, and the little snowflakes that always fell.

"I wonder how the others are doing," Sapphire sighed. "I hope they are alright." Platinum looked on at the cresting waves, thinking about that too. _Was everyone okay? What happened to gentle Dia, energetic Pearl? Were they safe and sound?_

The brunette felt her eyes going heavy. The water was whispering softly to her, invitingly.

_What? _she thought._ Do I...have to follow you?_

It was a call, and she knew she couldn't risk ignoring it. Not when it might have to do with her mission.

_Was it...yes...I think...yes, I will follow. I will go._

Almost knowingly, she leaned too far into the ocean.

And she was falling, falling down into the cold water. She gasped and felt saline needles prick her lungs for a moment before shuddering. Her face was turned towards the surface, although her arms and legs were crippled from the temperatures.

Was this the end of her journey already? A bright blue light immersed her from her core, and the wild girl felt...in tune with her environment.

She felt...at peace.

* * *

From the harbor, Platinum shrieked when she saw Sapphire's body splash and drop deep into the waters. Her blood ran cold when she saw ice forming around the girl, and a strange blue glow bursting from the waters. The coldness crept in the water until it formed a giant ball of ice, pulsating with blue, shimmering right under the water's surface.

The heiress' mind turned back into the drawing, with the giant egg of water. Was this the true meaning of the drawing? Then, that meant...it was only a matter of time before the legendary Manaphy was to be born.

Collecting her wits, she pulled out a red sphere from her bag, calling out her Empoleon. "Guard Sapphire, Empoleon! Check if she's okay!" Platinum watched as the huge penguin creature dived into the ocean before running towards where Green and Silver were, a PokeGear in her hand. Already a plan was forming in her mind.

* * *

More than halfway towards Snowpoint, Saturn and his team of Grunts were already detecting marine energy from the onboard computers of their truck. Clad in thick grey coats, the team was armed with capturing devices and any weapons that may prove useful should they encounter any opposition.

Saturn looked out from the back of the truck, cigarette in hand. The last few efforts have been failures, and as long as he wants a chance to stay in Cyrus' favor upon his return the Admin's performance must be top-notch. He merely looked on at the black screens, seeing a blip on their radar due east.

The Grunts (mostly scientists) were too busy tracking their target to notice the grey body coming towards the truck.

There was a rush of shattered wind, and a horrendous force. The truck's windshield shattered, knocking the driver unconscious and stopping the vehicle. Two figures were visible in the hail: one in black, and one in blue. As their Pokémon began unleashing attacks, the Grunts began to panic as they recognized the Champions of the Hoenn and Sinnoh leagues. The whole trucked jarred into motion as they reached for their Pokéballs.

Cynthia commanded her Milotic to freeze the tires of the truck to the ground, while Steven continued his attack with his Metagross, busting the truck's doors open. The arrival of the two powerful trainers so scared the Grunts that they shot at them with their electric guns.

However the truck was too small in space for any damage to escape the area; the great steel creature blocked the hits and used psychic force to force the Grunts into submission. Several more minutes later, everyone in the truck was disarmed; such was the power of Champions.

Something, however, was amiss. The lady Champion saw this when she inspected the equipment in the truck. There was one person that made it out...but who...

"Where's Saturn?" Cynthia roared over the hail. "He's the leader of the operation, right?"

Most of the Grunts whimpered, their heads to the ground. However one's eyes flicked towards the window at the back of the truck that had been weakened by the Metagross' attack, and had been busted open. Steven frowned stormily while Cynthia reported the disappointing news.

"He got away."

_**TBC…**_


	18. Chapter 18: The Trapped

_A/N: Inspired by songs. :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special._

_**Chapter 18: The Trapped**_

Raylord found the innermost chamber first, seeing through the thick cavern walls with its golden eyes. Pearl was on its back, clutching at its black fur. The others - Red, Yellow, and Ruby - were close by and aided by their own Pokémon. They were horrified at the sight that was created for them.

Its great gray head was shining and had dark smoke seeping out of its jaws. The shackled legs were grating against the electric-charged chains, as if in the throes of death. The body was crusted with dark cooled lava, immobilizing the beast, making painful sounding cracks with every shake. Its whines were heavy and difficult, silenced by the sudden coldness of Stark Mountain's insides.

Slowly, surely, Heatran was dying on its throne.

Yellow choked back tears, trembling as she did. The agony emanating from the creature was so thick - it was penetrating into her so strongly! Her eyes slid across the cave, staring at the steely cables holding Heatran fast. They were connected to what seemed to be big generators, to a huge reservoir that shined brightly...like...fire...

And that fire was beating hard...almost buzzing. It possessed a rhythm only the living made. Pearl - almost instinctively - went towards the glass reservoir. He yelled and leapt back when the boiling hot air around it singed him, forming reddened marks from a brief touch.

The boy hopped around, waving his arms in a futile effort to cool his aching skin, yelping all the while."Yeaaah, that's Heatran's inner energy! Guessing from the - *whooo!* - machines, Galactic's saving this power to open the - *oouch!* - Distortion World. Don't go near it - the air around it is burning!"

Red grit his teeth now. They could cool the air with something, but that would endanger the living core inside. If that energy would go out, Heatran would die. He turned to Ruby, who frowned, and Yellow, who looked quite distressed. Heatran was still there, its internal parts groaning all the while. They were, for all intents and purposes, stuck.

"Damn."

There was a soft ringing, and Ruby picked up his PokeGear to answer. It didn't take ten seconds before Ruby paled and lost his breath. His heart began shaking, and a cold sweat broke over his skin.

The Battler and the Healer ran towards him, and they were afraid to see the youth so stricken. They gasped at Ruby's words, and the blond stamping around the room halted mid-hop and tripped over his feet at the landing.

"Sapphire's...gone."

* * *

The darkly warm smoke in his lungs curled against the cold Snowpoint air.

It was becoming dusky, and Saturn's shades prevented the snowflakes from whipping at his eyes. The snowmobile hidden behind their van was now carrying him northward, weaving behind trees to avoid being followed. His gloved hand twisted the steering handle, and the vehicle accelerated in the whiteness. His thoughts were angry, to say the least.

_Damn my life. Fighting for a cause I don't believe in. Saving a leader I don't like. Being tracked down by a near-invincible foe. And I get my ass kicked by children. _

His lips were drawn tighter at that jab at his pride. What he wouldn't give for a hot coffee again...

It wasn't long before the flatter terrain of the city was within reach. Saturn stopped the snowmobile meters away, in a corner clustered with trees. He dismounted, pulling his padded jacket closer to his body. _Damn these blistering cold conditions,_ he inwardly cursed.

Calling out his Pokémon, the Admin shoveled piles of snow to cover the vehicle and hide it from view. The young man's steely eyes angle towards the entrance to the city, and calmly walks in. The streets seemed quite empty, as always.

_According to the data, the target should be just beyond the harbor._ Saturn's pale face looked at the ocean dark and blue. He saw waves, and waves, and ice layers...?

"...Poison Jab."

The purple creature pounced past Saturn, its sharp knuckles ready to shatter the ice layer just a little visible in the scalloped waves. Dashing left and right, it leapt into the air. One blow, the Admin concluded, would split the ice.

To his shock, a huge wave of water deflected his Toxicroak, sending both of them back from the harbor. Running towards the ocean, Saturn peered at the water and saw hundreds of dark shapes swimming deep under the surface. They looked at him with glaring eyes, snapping their jaws in threatening ways. An obvious sign of Manaphy's presence...quietly, the blue-haired man reached for his communicator -

CLANG.

The communicator was knocked out of his hand by an invisible force. Saturn whipped around, Pokéballs at the ready. From the vibe of that energy, he could guess that Sird had found him after all...

* * *

Sapphire fought against the stiffness overcoming her body, wriggling about in the watery prison.

Balefully she peered out of the cloudy ice orb, breathing in the brine that had become natural in the past few hours. She saw a dark shaped scratching at the ice tentatively, and recognized it as Platinum's Empoleon.

_The little Lady must be worried sick_, Sapphire thought. She remembered her screaming before falling into the deep salty water. She continued swimming in the enclosed sphere, feeling much like a Goldeen in a closed-off fishbowl.

Her mind drifted to more mundane thoughts as she wriggled. August was fading when the Summit first started...now September was already creeping upon them - her birthday was nearing. She was going to be older, another year passed. Sapphire recalled her past parties as a little girl, becoming less decadent and less formal the older she had become (excluding the joint party she had with Ruby, once).

Perhaps there would be another party for her, when she would be free. When she would make it. If she would make it.

But what if she wouldn't make it? Her survival in this suspended state was already threatened by Team Galactic and Sird. What if one - or more - of their number would die?

A hard lump formed in her throat, and she gruffly choked on it. But she let it go, eventually. Tears wouldn't be recognizable in a sphere full of water, anyway.

Her waterlogged coat billowed around her, dark and soft. Her legs ached for rest, but she was stubbornly going on, thinking all the while. Would they ever come back together again? Or even see each other again? Will someone be able to stop Sird? Team Galactic? As she scuffed at the ice, she thought of her father. Would she live to see him again? Could he go on, all alone? Such was the long shadow of death - a shadow that people tended to forget.

_But if you come, when all the flowers are dying..._  
_And I am dead, as dead I well may be..._

Those words...those were the lyrics Sapphire had sung to the girls, that hot August day. That was the song her mother taught to her - among others - before she succumbed to her frailness. The day her mother died was the day the world seemed all the more frightening. So. Still.

Here Sapphire stopped and clutched at her frigid knees, pressing her legs closer to her chest in the free-floating ball: protective, fetal, afraid. The steady beat in her abdomen was slowing, and the girl knew that Manaphy was beginning to rest. Her lips were forming the words to the silent tune.

_You'll come and find the place where I am lying..._  
_And kneel and say a prayer there for me..._

Never did she want to be trapped in that stillness again. As she was now. She had been running away from it for so long...she had wanted to become stronger! But she was in there again, trapped by boundaries set the moment the jewel touched her body.

Was it a sign to accept her fate...herself?

Her ears were full of the song her mother taught her now, louder than before.

_And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me..._  
_And oh, my grave will warm, sweeter be..._  
_If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me..._

Her eyelids grew heavy as the coolness around her swung her to sleep. The roaring of the water outside was stronger, and Pokémon cries grew louder, but Sapphire paid no heed to them.

It may have been the blurry water vision, but in the shining cold walls surrounding her, Sapphire swore she saw her mother. Beautiful, pale, and smiling, hushing her to slumber. Her eyes closed, disturbed only by a softly glowing scarlet that streamed from her center.

_...I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me._

_**TBC...**_


	19. Chapter 19: The Avaricious

_A/N: Only one chapter away from number 20? Thank you, everyone!_  
_Recent chapters were short. I hope you find this one more satisfying!_

_Warning: Language, my friends._

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special._

**Chapter 19: The Avaricious**

"This is utter bullcrap."

Blue was dissatisfied at Green's report, evident by the bitter face she made as she silenced her PokeGear.

_Sapphire's underwater again, but safe. Big commotion at the pier, Saturn and Sird are back. Platinum's going to be guarding near the harbor. Silver and I are going to get an aerial view in there and see if we could stop them. Assistance would be great._

How...typically clipped of him. So infuriating...yet it appealed to her senses. "Silly boy," she chuckled to herself.

Emerald and Green were arguing about what could have happened. Or rather, what would have happened had they been there. Lying on the grass, like bragging about one's adventures in the past. Looking at the clouds.

"I would have beaten them both," Emerald snorted, digging his platforms into the cool grass.

"I would have beaten that Saturn before Sird needed to show her sorry ass there," Gold smirked.

They were both propped up against the huge white stone that served as a marker of Shaymin's presence.

Just covers for their worries, that's all.

"One thing is clear: there are too many of us here. A couple of us should head for Snowpoint. "

Emerald raised to move his hand, but Blue stopped him. "_Except_ you," she said firmly. "I'm not an expert on these kind of things, but I would think your soil-shooter abilities would be extremely helpful _here_." And here the short blond boy frowned, but said nothing.

For now.

Diamond continued looking at the cold white rock in the way. "...I'd like to go, actually."

"Great! Then it's decided. Diamond and yours truly will save those damsels in distress, right away!" His energy was somewhat flawed by the severity of the situation, and the obvious frown of Blue wiped his face clean of bravado.

"Hey..."

"I hope they're all okay." And a rattling sigh shook her chest. As if stemming back a cry.

"I hope."

Emerald winced and chewed at his lip, looking stonily at the sky. Gold's voice cracked faintly, trying to reply. He failed. Only Dia was serene as always.

Serene. And serious.

* * *

_She's fallen into the water, and she's in some kind of ball of...ice, I can't reach her now-I've asked Empoleon to guard, but right now I'm not sure if she's conscious or not, I - *gasp*. CLICK._

The young man with the orange eyes was feeling dejected at the cut-off call. What could have happened to the Lady? What would have made her stop?

Without words, thoughts, Ruby's eyes scratched around for the exit. His body was already moving without command. A hand flew towards him.

"The mission - damnit!"

Pearl's eyes were flashing, and in his haste to grab Ruby his nails dug into the fabric gloves Ruby wore. He yanked hard and actually made the boy bowl over backward.

"You can't just be going every time your girlfriend's undergoing something! This is serious-"

"And you're saying that Sapphire's condition isn't serious?"

"I didn't sa-"

"The fact that she might be dead right now isn't serious to you?"

"No, it's serious bu-"

Something snapped. In a flash, Pearl was down on the floor with a black eye and Ruby's fist was out in a fighting stance. The blond boy stood up, a feral look on his face, before tackling Ruby to the ground.

Red was sorely tempted to join them in beating the shit out of each other. If only to release all this frustration and anger.

"Stop it!"

A certain strain in the voice stilled the young men's limbs. They remained taut and ready to strike out, stretches of muscle strung tight under skin. Pearl's hand went to his marred face, but he had the sense to be silent. Their eyes went to the young woman at the sidelines, beside the heaving arachnoid of brimstone.

Yellow's lips were clamped together, her knuckles already a frightening white. In one of those few sacred times, her brows were knit in exasperation. "Stop it, both of you, or so help me Arceus, I will shut you all up myself. Understand?"

There was shock.

The blonde girl's breaths became steady, and she turned back to Heatran, if to hide her embarrassment from her outburst.

"...We're all worried. For Sapphire, for Platinum, for everyone. And I know you all want to go now. But you can't. She cannot be disturbed from her sleep. This is the reason why she is at Snowpoint: to be at an environment where Manaphy can be safely born."

There was no sound save for Heatran's trembling.

Yellow went on, firmly now. "Right now...we must wait until the ice breaks by itself." Her hard eyes were drilling the meaning into all of them, gleaming like bits of peridot. "Right now, we must do our own duty as well." Her unspoken meaning was clear.

_This is a mission only Sapphire can accomplish._

She stepped forward and took Ruby's forearm, gently leading him back to the cavern.

"She'll be okay...but you have to trust us on this...please. Someone else needs our help right here." And the girl motioned at the dying Pokémon.

And with grave faces, the four focused on breaking the chains again.

* * *

It had been half an hour of intense fighting between Mewtwo and Saturn, with Saturn attempting to make an attack at Mewtwo's trainer Sird with little success.

"Damn that barrier - !" The blue-haired Commander sank to his knees in exhaustion, feeling the cold cruelty of the air stinging at him. _Oh, shit..._

Immediately he felt his throat go dry, a sharpness threatening to crush his windpipe. He collapsed on his side, watching with blurry eyes as the woman with the ashen face leered at him with cruel eyes. Mewtwo was strangling him to death. He felt blood drain from his face.

"Goodbye, Saturn..."

"Dark Pulse!"

The psychic barrier splintered apart, exposing Sird to attack. The woman wailed as she impacted upon the snow. The man gasped and scrambled backward as Mewtwo turned to help his master; he turned around to see a familiar bob of dark hair.

Standing there was Courtney, now wearing a leather jacket over her clothes. Her Ninetales was beside her, fangs still glowing with dark energy from the attack. They both had a burning, feisty look in their eyes.

"...You?"

"That's right, boy blue. I'm guessing you," and here she motioned to Sird flippantly, "are in need of an assist." And a Flamethrower was hurled on the newly reformed shield of power.

Sird cackled. "You? I know you, my dear. You haven't been an angel yourself, Magma Admin Courtney. I know all about your...ah, 'exploits'." And with a flick of her hand, Mewtwo thrust its telekinetic weapon at Courtney, who flinched.

It never made contact; Toxicroak's parry stopped the huge object to touch her.

"Details, details..." Saturn muttered, and here Courtney felt a bit of thankfulness at his nonchalance. "We have more pressing matters at hand, don't we?" He grinned at his teammate, who laughed back at his breathlessness.

"Let's double date."

* * *

Heatran allowed Yellow to stroke its great iron head, glad to be free.

Once the shackles were shattered Heatran wasted no time in unleashing a huge roar, sending waves of heat through the earthen walls. The gleaming magma under the mountains were once again visible between the cracks of stones.

Already the reply of thousands of Pokémon that made their home in Stark mountain were sounding off. They too, were returning.

The spreading warmth in the mountains meant that they have accomplished their task: the nature power of fire was restored. The Healer turned to her companions, now grave once again.

"Call Platinum."

There were several tense seconds of waiting before Pearl's Poketch rung to life. The hushed whisper checked their emotions, reminding the group of Platinum's situation.

"Before you ask, yes, Sapphire's alright."

The four teenagers sighed in partial relief, their hearts lightened for a moment.

"...Last time I checked she was conscious and breathing underwater...probably an effect of Manaphy." There was a dull crunch, probably of snow."I was able to get to the corner of the pier with Empoleon, and was about to get ready to dive after Sapphire once the ice broke."

"What happened?"

"Now, there's a battle going on outside the ice ball she froze herself in. It's Saturn and Sird, but they're busy with each other at the moment. Empoleon is guarding Sapph, and I'd hate to battle them with that telepathic monstrosity around."

There were sounds of battle, and screams.

"Wait, someone just joined Saturn - some woman in civilian clothes, with a Ninetales."

Ruby felt a jolt register in his mind.

Red asked into the Poketch. "Where's Silver and Green? Weren't they supposed to be there too?" He was worried that they, too, had fallen.

"They're trying to reach Sapphire before Saturn and Sird find them. They said something about coming in from the air..."

* * *

"Noisy woman." Green stowed the PokeGear back.

Silver twitched at little at this comment, but remained fixated at the battle below. They were above now, on Charizard. The older boy had just finished calling the Shaymin group about the "situation" here; judging from the loud squeak from the PokeGear, the reaction was unpleasant.

The sky was progressing into darkness now, and from the height they were flying Charizard's tail flame would go relatively unnoticed. Certainly no one has yet to point out the reptile in the sky. The citizens were too busy hiding from the chaos at the harbor.

They watched as the Team Galactic Commander and an unknown person attacked the psychic barrier, making nothing but an infernal racket.

There was an unearthly hiss as the snowflakes touched Sird, And perhaps it was a trick of the light (or the lack of it), but Green saw the Rocket Beast flail in pain, as if burned. And then the psychic shield went up again, and Saturn and the other woman's efforts were deflected again.

Interesting.

"Silver, get your Honchkrow out and aim a Dark Pulse at it from here. I think I found a way to stop that bitch."

Silver's eyebrow quirked, and he sent out the bird with a flick of the wrist and a command. "You heard the man, Honchkrow. Take her out." The ebony bird Pokémon tipped its hat-shaped crest with its wing before diving down from the sky.

He looked at his senior with an indescribable look, and Green challenged him with a puzzled look.

"...What?"

"'Bitch?'"

"Not the best word to use, I know. But she's frustrating and nearly tried to kill us all. Several times." His still-bandaged hand flexed at the word 'kill'.

"...Huhn." The redhead felt the tingle of the cut on his leg, and nodded. Personally, there were far worse words to describe her anyway.

* * *

Saturn had never felt so relieved to see an ambush before.

From the sky a ring of dark energy fell and opened the shield around Sird, making her shriek even more. Courtney had used this unexpected opening to hurl an Iron Tail attack at her, sending the Rocket Beast hurtling towards the already quaking wall of water.

_A distraction. Perfect._

Saturn activated his communicator, and whispered instructions. "The brats are probably on the move from that area. But wait for my signal - then move in and capture Shaymin." His call ended just when a blast of fire came at him from the shadows.

Now was the time to fight.

**TBC...**


	20. Chapter 20: The Hope

_A/N: I had a very special birthday this December. :")_  
_Twentieth chapter! :O Amazing. Please proceed with caution at this chapter, as there is some blood and mentions of substance abuse, as well as some "Alien" moments and strangeness *cough*. I hope you enjoy. I hope everyone had happy holidays! And a wondrous New Year! :D_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special. I think these disclaimers are useless._

_._

_**Chapter 20: The Hope **_.

.

Crystal was an impatient woman when it came to doing jobs, and it was no small wonder that she had resolved to maneuver herself around the hospital in a wheelchair until she was fully rehabilitated.

In between physical therapy sessions and meal times, the Capturer took the time to watch the movements of her fellow Pokédex Holders from afar. She had seen them struggle, and she was determined to do the same.

Presently she was rubbing her stiff knees while seated in front of the computer, tracking her friends' movements again. It had been regular, almost comforting, to see that she could help them from afar; sending them messages, information, and Pokémon through the Centers she contacted. The fact that she was irreplaceable was comforting.

Now her PokeGear rang up, and she received a weak greeting from Blue.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," she breathed. "And you guys?"

"I sent Gold and Diamond away with my Abra to help out with the commotion in Snowpoint. You heard the reports?"

"Yeah, a really intense battle that's been keeping the residents home."

"Exactly. I think Sapphire and Platinum shouldn't stay there a moment longer."

"And Green?"

"He and Silver are in the commotion as we speak. "

Crystal made a small "hmm" of thought. "I guess we can trust them not to go overboard on this, right?"

* * *

Saturn decided, all on his own, that he must have smoked something strange this morning.

Not only did he find himself trapped in battle with one of the most deranged people in the world, he was teamed up with the famous Team Magma Admin who betrayed her organization and helped save Hoenn. Whom he met in a coffee shop as he was trying to avoid law enforcement. Whom he (strangely) discovered liked to chew exotic-flavored bubblegum and wore boot cut jeans.

And now, the (irritatingly alive) Pokédex Holders were saving their skins?

_Arceus almighty, what was the world coming to?_ A thorough inspection of his cigarette brands must be made, if not a quick check on whether any pot was rolled in them. He might as well take advantage of the universe's momentary high to save himself.

The young man with the brown hair and the surly face motioned to him, and the Galactic Admin replied with a nod. His eyes slid towards Courtney, who saw this exchange. Her lips angled just so, and took position parallel to Saturn's.

The Ninetales took aim as Toxicroak prepared a fighting stance. Green acquiesced this with a raise of his thin eyebrows, and turned to the teenager beside him.

* * *

"Let's go."

Silver's insides clenched when Green's hand grabbed his arm as the two jumped from the airborne Charizard. His senior landed perfectly on the snow when his own legs buckled, and the brunette's strategy was being put into motion while his senses were still a little scrambled. Nonetheless, the redhead yelled out his next move.

Honchkrow blasted forward, shooting a malevolent ring of darkness before angling sharply upward. The attack hit perfectly, and for a vital moment the barrier surrounding the once invincible pair of beings shattered. Mewtwo recoiled from the dark imaginings, and Sird spat at the burningly sharp air.

It was a powerful combination attack: a hot stream of fire propelled even further by air thrust by the Iron Tail and Brick Break attacks. Charizard then flapped its leathery wings, pushing Toxicroak and Ninetales forward to follow up with Poison Jab and Hyper Beam. The impact made a ringing crash upon Sird's protective sphere.

By now the Rocket Beast was very, very different. Her very physical integrity was already warping from the psychic field that surrounded her. Her silhouette even seemed to mimic Mewtwo: the dusty coloring, the thin limbs and hunched back., the glowing eyes. She continued shrieking, commanding the psychic Pokémon to continue. Like a puppet on strings, erratic in movement and almost lifeless in spirit, Mewtwo danced forward. The woman resumed her cackles.

"I will transcend life!"

The energy utensil it held swung forth and ripped at Toxicroak, who dodged and accidentally slammed into Saturn.

"I will destroy death!"

A powerful shock sent Ninetales tumbling backwards. Courtney grunted as the pale fox Pokémon knocked her off her feet.

"Don't you see, you simple-minded idiots? By making myself 'infinite', I will become the only Infinite One of the universe!" Mewtwo flew forward, charging at the winged reptile and catching it off-guard. The two young men dived into the snow as the genetic beast created shockwaves in its wake.

"My plan is to rip open the fabric of reality and destroy Arceus, the Creator-Pokémon. To dethrone that unmoving creature and become ruler of the universe!"

Sird made a grasping motion with her hands, and the two Pokédex Holders gasped as their limbs snapped together and rendered them immobile.

Above them, Charizard and Mewtwo traded blows with each other. Blasts of fire and sonic effects hinted at every attack. A sharp metallic crack cut through every ear, and a shard of the metal encasing the clone Pokémon's face broke off.

The pupil that was revealed shrank back in the shift of lighting. The body swung onward, and steel clashed with dragon scales for a moment. The two wrestled for control and pummeled each other as they plummeted to the ground.

Mewtwo's free eye dripped tears as he recognized Green.

* * *

Sapphire was faintly aware that somehow she was ending.

Something was off in that the air bubble that was merely a small part of the hydrous sphere was expanding. Her screams were horribly muted in her prison, and everything was spinning from the delirium-inducing pain.

It felt like her abdomen would shatter apart. Pale hands reached for her stomach, and was met by slightly warmer, more scarlet waves. The tiny shards of blue crystal were still sparkling in the water.

All she saw before darkness curled around her vision was a cloud of red, a ripple of blue, and two softly shining eyes of gold.

And then, a slant of light.

* * *

Mars smirked under her breath, her Grunts arrayed in front of her and camouflaged in the snow. By now Jupiter was only a few miles north of their position, dangerously close to the Pokémon League and their target. All it took was one signal, one signal flare that was at the ready the moment most opportune would be found.

She eyed at Sird, and was pleased to see that the barrier surrounding the woman was wearing thin as she floated alone. A lady never forgets a grudge, she remembered, as she gently readied her trigger finger.

"Gotcha."

As the cruel lead marred her perfect flesh, Sird saw the storm of silver-suited men through a bothersome splatter of suspended blood. Her grip over the damned children was broken, and Mewtwo had teleported to her side at the roar of imminent danger. They began spinning, began to prepare themselves for the teleportation.

The one figure holding the gun, with the vindicated smile, would be one of the first to pay.

* * *

The big white rock was blank and warm, and Emerald ran his gloved hands over them several times, but couldn't quite get the feel of it. He took off his extensors and felt the rock again. It was dusty under his fingers, but it felt good. The blond boy felt himself getting sleepy from the serenity of his surroundings. He blinked.

"Crap!"

Yellow suddenly appeared in the rock, her face protruding from the stone. Blue shrieked and Emerald stumbled backward.

But it wasn't Yellow at all, but someone very similar. Except that her hair was a glossy green and her skin was impossibly white, and pink pinwheel blossoms embraced her body instead of clothing. She was also glowing with a curious shine, and her feet didn't touch the tender grass under her. She emerged from the stone, like a ghost passing through a wall.

_~Peace will soon return, for the Prince of the Seas has been born.~_

Emerald was speechless, and Blue gulped hard. The Prince of the Seas? A faint boom in the distance went unnoticed as the spirit continued to speak.

_~For the Prince to take his place among the Legendaries, he must reign in his birthplace, in the northern oceans. He must return, one day, to exercise his birthright as given by the Infinite One, Arceus. And I, Shaymin, was charged to speak of this to you through the spirit of one of your comrades.~_

The brunette flinched at this, while Emerald's gape rivaled that of a Magikarp. Blue suddenly felt very, very tired.

"With all the mystical legendary Pokémon crap we do, I shouldn't be surprised to see someone just phase out of a fudging rock...hey, wait!"

For the spirit-vision Shaymin was gone, and an eerie rumble of many footsteps crawled into the landscape...footsteps that grew into a crown of silver-uniformed men and women. Emerald's Dusclops and Sudowoodo popped out of their Pokéballs and moved to protect the boy, and Blue kept her Nidoqueen and Wigglytuff close by. She stretched and rubbed the back of her neck, smiling.

"About time we've gotten any action for our part!"

* * *

"And we've teleported here, to sneak up on them, you see."

"That sounds fair," Diamond panted faintly as he trotted in a vain attempt to catch up with the much more active Gold. "But judging from the commotion, should we really try to 'sneak up' on...anything?"

Gold merely whistled as the rampaging ruckus became louder. "Our plan is simple, really: teleport here, grab Platinum, Sapphire, and simply bolt. Easy as poffins." The shrieks and bangs ahead did not seem to unnerve him at all. It actually...made him more excited. "Too bad, 'cause I don't know how to make poffins."

Diamond sighed and looked at the shrunken Pokéball with the Abra in it. "Too bad you can't teleport more than two people, huh?" The yellow mouse-faced thing flicked its tail and continued sleeping. "It's a shame Blue kept you under leveled."

"Hush," the amber-eyed fellow shushed. "Over here."

As they crept into the clearing they realized the hellish field they stumbled upon. There were at least fifty people raging in the snow, attacking at the ungodly abomination that floated about, deflecting ammunition and attacks without care. Screaming, roaring, screeching and ricochets made the glorious cacophony that sank Snowpoint into chaos.

The two boys were transfixed at the scene until a squelching sound by their side and a loud gasp broke their concentration.

Platinum was a horrible wreck, wheezing and drenched in freezing water as she emerged from the sea. Her metallic eyes were encircled in pure white, and her body was streaked with dark red. Even in stillness she seemed epileptic, horrid goose bumps raised stark and solid as she shivered violently.

She was gripping hard on her Empoleon's long golden crest with one hand, the rest of her leaning against the Pokémon's dense waterproof feathers. Empoleon had carried them away from the water, onto the snow, to avoid being detected.

What truly shook them was what Platinum's other arm was encircling.

Nestled within her arm was a near-drowned Sapphire, shivering madly and barely breathing. Blood poured from what seemed to be cracks running in her abdomen from where the crystal shards once were. Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain, and her skin was starkly blue-white. Wrapped within the brunette's own embrace was a tiny bubble-like form, with eyes of gold.

* * *

The Healer felt her toes and fingertips asleep in her wakening, and she breathed in deeply. The vest fabric in front of her smelled of dust and sweat, and strands of black hair poked her face a little. The scenery was of sprinkled ash and green-grey grasses.

"What's the matter...?"

"...Hurry..." Her faint green eyes adjusted under their lids, remembering how she had synchronized spirits with Shaymin. "Manaphy...is..."

The other boys said nothing, but merely quickened their pace back to the Survival Area.

* * *

A great commotion arose when the Battle Frontier's Fight Area entrance received two bloody teenagers on its perfectly polished floors.

They collapsed in a heap, to be joined by another two kids teleporting in the same way. A strangled choke of "help" awakened the stunned staff enough to move the (still dripping) adolescents into a Pokémon Center.

One dark-haired girl in the group was familiar to the staff, and she was the first to speak out.

"Go…call Palmer."

* * *

Palmer blew off steam the best way he could in this case: in motion.

He was pacing hollows into the floor of the previously mentioned Pokémon Center, turtleneck having been haggardly pulled on, hair uncombed (as usual), and green coat wrinkled (which was unusual). It worried him a great deal to see mere teenagers going through what seemed to be pure torture.

His attention turned over to the creature in the cold-water tank, and the boy watching it with mild fascination.

"What are the chances of Manaphy surviving this ordeal?"

"...I'd say around 67.5 %."

"Thorton!"

"I call it as I see it," the pale young man huffed, his sharp eyes angled as always. His genius must come with a touch of insanity, for the hand holding the blue analyzer twitched a little. The pointy face looks over to the blond man with the faint wrinkles.

"You know I am rarely wrong, Palmer. Your son and his friends ought to hurry." The little bubbly baby gurgled in the water, eyes wide and curious. It flapped a little towards Thorton's face, prompting a vague cough-chuckle.

At that moment the nurses wheeled in Sapphire, effectively unconscious. "She's lost a lot of blood," the candy floss-haired nurse panted. "A Pokémon Center doesn't have a blood bank. We're going to need a transfusion within the hour, or she'll destabilize fast."

Her colleagues moved quickly, fixing the sheets and measuring her blood pressure and hooking up the IV drip.

"Do we have any donors?"

"There are two, from her group: Red and Ruby."

* * *

"Dear child, I'm afraid I'm a tad nervous of your style."

For Dahlia was shimmying about awhile ago, the baubles glittering in her long black hair while her Togekiss dispersed the crowd with balls of shining blue aura. She made quick work of the Galactic rampage, although it was quite unfortunate that a good number had escaped.

Her golden heels did not hinder her spinning ability, and she finished her short routine with a flourish. Her voice sing-songed in the noise:

"Let chance do what it does~ No need to worry, things will go as they will. Nothing against my destiny will come about, that is certain.~"

More than half of the Galactic group that was present was already contained within the rock barrier that Bertha's Pokémon had created. Several of the Grunts were working at breaking the stone pillars, she noticed.

"Oh, we can't have that, can we?" Bertha rode upon Hippowdon's curved sand-back serenely. The red-eyed monster she so calmly petted bellowed, sending a controlled tremor under their toes. A good number of the Grunts were forced to their knees.

Dahlia looked at the bruised Silver and Green and sighed tremulously. "Oh, but it seems that even chance bests the best of us,~" she simpered and winked at the two. Her happy-go-lucky ways went on to shock the both of them when she had danced into the crowd of Grunts in abandon and promptly decimated terrain within a good five-foot radius of her perpetually shifting dance floor.

The Viridian City Gym Leader had a sudden, affectionately irritating urge to mutter "noisy woman" at her brash attitude. He looked over to Silver, who was quiet and out of breath, and clapped a bracing hand to his fellow's shoulder.

"Hey, you'll be ok?"

Silver nodded, and blew out a tired breath. "It's cold." He looked on at the dark-skinned Frontier Brain, who was now looking out at the dark water. "So Gold and Diamond...got the girls out alright..."

"Hmm," came the murmur of confirmation. They were a quiet pair.

Bertha's brown eyes suddenly turned a shade colder, and her normally sweet smile tightened as her gaze fell upon the barely-there shadow of the Snowpoint Temple.

"Look who we have here..."

A man came forth from the trees, in deep black clothes, and looked at the powerful company with an urgent gleam in his grey eyes.

* * *

Pearl's Poketch rang.

"…Daddy?"

In spite of the situation Red snorted, and Ruby smirked. Pearl made a strangled noise, and listened intently. The rapid-fire conversation was only heard with many exclamations:

"Oh, yeah.!..we're okay...yeah, they're with me...what? No way! But...ahrgh! Ok, we'll be there!"

He pressed the buttons with unnecessary force and swore sharply.

"Sounds bad," Red remarked mildly. "What happened?"

"Gold and Dia got The Lady and Sapphire out of Snowpoint with Manaphy at the Fight Area."

"Oh, that's good."

"Also," and here he looked at Ruby with worried eyes and a grim expression, "your lady-friend's lost a lot of blood. It looked pretty bad, I gather."

Ruby paled, and his face was so absolutely stricken that the orange-eyed youth corrected himself.

"Well, she's not dying yet. But it's pretty damn close-"

Then and there Ruby was gone, somehow spirited away upon the back of a black-haired wolf and leaving the other two in the dust. Pearl watched as the white cap was going, going, and gone to the fading shout of, "I'm going on ahead!..."

To the Battler's surprise, a smile crept upon the corner of the blond's mouth. "I think I'm very motivational, nowadays, don't you think?" His eyes twinkled, and secretly Red thought this was a small-scale revenge for the 'Daddy' laugh.

Red groaned, and attempted to at least get to the Pokémon Center in the Survival Area by nightfall. "Be careful with what you say around the guy, I think you might have given him an aneurysm!"

* * *

Giovanni found it very strange indeed.

He was in a private room, where various Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, Frontier Brains were staying to hear him plead his case. All were aware of his dealings, and being stuck in the same room with them was like strapping a Delcatty in a cage full of rabid blind Raticates. All it took was one move out of place and they would be all over him. Probably to inflict non-metaphorical wounds.

However Silver was there, and he was glad to see that his son did not regard him with a sense of absolute hatred. In fact, his son looked at him with a conflict of emotions: relief, curiosity, fear, anger, bitterness, regret, hope, even love. The hardened man's heart could not stay invulnerable for long, hence the long search for his kidnapped son.

The head nurse, a woman with dark corkscrew pigtails, came to the room with a grave face. Two other nurses accompanied her, one with familiar candy-pink twists and the other with soft blue curls. They spoke among themselves before talking to the company arrayed before them.

"Miss Birch's condition is worsening. The type O transfusion must be made immediately. Her companion Miss Berlitz is in danger of hypothermia as well."

Worried babble rippled around, and the Rocket Leader (_former Rocket Leader, he reminded himself_) watched. He saw the grey-haired woman whom he recognized as a relative of the Ghost-master Agatha mumble to the woman with the red suit and the shades perched atop her head. A faintly aloof-looking girl watched with marked disinterest, mainly because the bespectacled servant with her seemed to do most of the conferencing with the others.

Giovanni even saw his successor to the Viridian City Gym being consulted by whom he assumed to be the Rock-type Gym Leader of the region. The young man seemed quite confident, phlegmatic in demeanor and quite intelligent.

Silver was listening to their conversation intently, and it made sense to Giovanni why this Green was given the position of Gym Leader, seeing that his son looked up to him.

His tired voice surprised the whole room, even Giovanni himself.

"I can offer...my blood. It is type O as well."

All eyes noted the man in the dark clothes and carefully hidden bandages, and Giovanni's peripheral vision noted his red-haired son whispering something to the people in the room, along with a nod. The space between his eyebrows creased a little in a sudden burst of hoping affection.

_He trusts me..._

"I'm afraid we can't get your blood, sir. In your present condition..."

"I would think..." he coughed, "that my life is of not much consequence anymore."

"…All lives are equal, sir," the head nurse said quietly. "Of that much us caregivers are certain…You are in no shape to be offering your own blood."

"I am a man of...many sins," Giovanni strained in his rough voice. "And I feel burdened...since passing the threshold of old age. I think I can do more good...in saving a young life than by...preserving my old self."

His steely irises glistened with a sudden emotion, and he covered this vulnerability with his eyelids. The slight rattle in his exhalation alarmed the room. "Regardless...I want to give my blood."

The light glaze over his eyes reminded the company that people, given time, were capable of change. The man that once headed the most powerful organization of the Kanto region stood up, slowly and surely. Not one trainer in the room could move to restrain the will that was still powering this dignified man. The door shut, and Giovanni was gone.

Silver's fingers gripped at the armrest of the couch and his eyes did not drip tears.

* * *

The tiny sea-angel examined the world carefully, bright yellow irises tracking the curious creature yonder. Instinctively the Pokémon felt a bond with this strange pale land-thing, a special feeling of caring. He tried calling to it, but his garbled babyish gurgle couldn't be heard. The creature, Manaphy thought, was sleeping.

_Mama._

_**TBC...**_


	21. Chapter 21: The Vow

_A/N: Felt terrible for not updating in forever, but high school graduation and enrollment for college blew things out of my mind. I'm very sorry for putting this chapter up very late! Hopefully this slightly-thicker episode will help~_

_Thank you for your continued support!_

_Questions and suggestions are welcomed in my Formspring, which has a link on my profile. :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special. :)_

_._

**Chapter 21: The Vow **

.

.

"She's in here," the nurse said, gently opening the door. "Hush now, she might be asleep. It is lucky that we were able to reach her quickly, or else hypothermia might have killed her."

The room was painted a faint sea foam, contrasting with the off-white linoleum flooring. It was pleasant enough, with neat curtains and a bedside table and a plushy couch, and at the same time unpleasant by the way it smelled of rubbing alcohol. The visiting boys wrinkled their noses at the clinical smell that bore ill meanings.

The freezing waters of Snowpoint endangered Platinum Berlitz so much that her skin was still bluish. Warm air was being blown into her lungs through her mask. There were hot pads pressed against her neck and sides, although they were obscured by her hospital gown. She looked like a delicate, battle worn, tiny mess. And she was awake just then, looking at her best friends with her chrome eyes.

"Lady…"

Pearl looked visibly stricken, and Diamond made shallow little gasps that meant to stop tears as they approached. She gripped their hands with such fervor despite her slowness, but her slurred speech only frustrated her, and she brought their palms to the Pokéball that rolled about in her lap.

The Empoleon inside was tapping the plastic sphere, as if eager to return to normal size and be a comfort to his beloved mistress. The hands trembled, before pushing the Pokéball towards the boys. There was nothing she could do now, Platinum decides, but ask of them. Her voice rasped through the plastic mask.

"Be...my knights...now."

And burying herself within their forlorn arms did the Lady allow herself tears.

* * *

There was a curse, and a sob.

A faint spluttering hiss of flesh pained Sird greatly, and she lay heaving against the psychic barrier that had enveloped her for so long. The Mewtwo had brought her someplace else, a place of warm earth and water and water all around.

The creature seemed to be completely subdued by the armor it was encased in, so obedient to her will it was that the Rocket Beast had to chuckle at this small success. However weakened they were (for to speak of one's state was to speak of the other), they survived.

The moment of respite was short-lived, however, when a deep growl came from the bushes. Mewtwo brandished the blade it held, and Sird braced herself within the force bubble.

There was no need, however, for the threat made itself known. The uniform was tattered and tarnished, the appearance bruised and in disarray, but the selfish gleam in her eyes made the obvious quite evident: Jupiter had not changed from her ousting from Team Galactic. The noxious purple creature stayed its ground, although its fur bristled from the presence of malicious intent.

"Heh...underhanded as always, eh...? You were never...quite as trustworthy, pinky..." And Sird managed to keep upright in her defensive barrier, fixing a wary eye at the former Team Galactic Commander. "I suppose...you'll try...to finish me off..."

The magenta-haired woman frowned at this statement, but kept cool. "What Galactic's goals are up to them. Mars has what she wants - the research you've done on the legendaries. She'll probably try to find Cyrus again." She crossed her arms and dug a silver-painted toe into the island's dirt. "And you'll probably wish to gain power for yourself."

Her stare became fixed and greedy, and the Skuntank beside her dug its claws into the earth. "I wish to make a deal with you."

Sird stared at the woman who had tried to kill her mere weeks ago. She knew the ways of traitors, as one looks at a mirror, and was wary but interested. A Seviper can bite with its fangs, she remembered, and can stab with its tail. One must be careful in treading its path.

"...Go on. I'm listening."

"Saturn and Mars have been trying to track you down to get to the Manaphy you seek, as well as take your new 'super-weapon'. I can tell you all the locations of the Galactic bases scattered all over the region, which you can shut down and thus cripple their efforts into robbing you of your newfound weapon."

The Rocket Beast tilted her head, the burns on her body already half-healed, coaxed by Mewtwo's telekinesis. She was waiting for the catch, which Jupiter supplied with a bitter spit:

"All I ask is that you let me kill Mars."

* * *

"Originally...Sird worked for me."

The words echoed faintly in the metallic room, as close to an interrogation room as any in the Battle Frontier. It was bare, save for a chair, a large table, and a bright fluorescent bulb on the ceiling. This space was reserved for Giovanni's meeting with the Champions later on, a room in the Battle Tower that Palmer had kept private.

The former crime boss continued, hands adjusting the collar of his black coat. "She helped gather the Phione to create a dew that would heal any ailment...this dew being produced only by such creatures. This helped me recover from my injuries from our last encounter."

A serious-looking pigtailed girl listened carefully, tapping at her computer. She was seated in a blue wheelchair, a soft blanket covering her legs. The computer was turned to face him, and the user spoke grimly. "Did you know about this?"

The images displayed on the screen were searing: shriveled blue bodies were photographed by the netful, dead little creatures floating in the water. There were hundreds of them, drifting like plastic bags along the waves.

He remembered the experiments, the extractions, but the details...seemed so insignificant. There was no way his disease needed that many Phione.

The growing anger was lighting his gray eyes afire, though he only growled. "...No." _It was all for her benefit_, his innards roiled. _She took all that blood to obtain the imperfect immortality._ "So she took the life of these Pokémon to perpetuate her own..."

His jaw clenched, and his pride flared. "I was unaware of the full extent of Sird's...experiments."

"I think taking in the blood of Phione had some side-effects that might have affected Sird. She was involved in the creation of Guile Hideout's armor, 'Eternity', because the energy he received from the Red Jewel filled him with power. This power may have weakened him to beyond human limit, and I suspect that this effect is plaguing Sird as well."

Words echoed in Giovanni's mind. _I will take the world. I will find eternal death, as I did eternal life. And I shall rule._

"I see. I believe with this knowledge she will be guarding herself most carefully."

"She is. She has Mewtwo under control, under some strange armor. Green Oak tells me that this was not the first time."

"Correct. The first time was during my control over Deoxys - using the M2 Bind. I used it to restrain him."

"This new armor seems not only to restrain him, but to control him," Crystal frowned. "Another one of Sird's side projects under your hand. Precisely why I am here - I am requesting your assistance on behalf of the Pokédex Holders. Your knowledge will prove useful in defeating Sird and Team Galactic. We cannot ignore their plans for opening the Distortion World."

_Distortion World. Eternal death._

* * *

"...I can't."

"Hmph. Very nice to think it can keep confidential, but I can't fight blind, Saturn." And the slightly grubby Courtney attempted to scoot away from the fire that her companion had built.

They had escaped the conflict (and the authorities, Courtney noticed) and were now laboring under a violent snowstorm, in some cave they had found as shelter for the night. Ninetales was enough to keep one of them warm, and being in the company of a woman nestled in golden tails of fur seemed strangely out of place.

If ever he found himself in the company of women in fur, Saturn once thought, he would be a hotshot in the toniest restaurant in town. Perhaps with wine and his own special table. Dreams were free, and all he could afford.

"Perhaps we should concentrate on surviving the night, shall we?" He scooted some more into the overflowing pile of toasty fur, pausing when Ninetales stared at him with its wary red eyes. Its trainer whispered something, and the nest of tails made way for him just a little bit. The Galactic Commander (former by now, Saturn supposed) already felt better, his lower half draped in coziness, his upper half in interesting proximity with a woman and a beast.

Hours passed, and small talk faded away. He was the only one awake then - the tawny fox and its owner were fast asleep, both draped in some way over Saturn's shoulders. The sensation was unfamiliar, yet nostalgic.

He once had a past like that, a past with hugs and warmth and company. There was nothing like that in his life now, except for this single golden moment.

For a moment he remembered power struggles and violence and the world. To tell or not to tell? There were so many implications, so many possibilities and problems. They swirled into the night's snow and became forgotten, as he sunk further into an embrace.

* * *

Sapphire was breathing deeply, which eased the worry had her skin been less pallid. Her hair's tawny tone seemed more pronounced against her white pillows, and her face was devoid of the spark that made people marvel at her energy. It was something so different, so sacred.

She struggled against sleep when her visitor entered the room. The morning sunlight was pale and translucent, a welcome relief from the dark and difficult night before. It felt good to breathe in air, although for now it was through a mask.

Now the brunette felt herself shrinking involuntarily into her bed as her guest's deep red eyes drilled into her half-closed blue ones. She remembered a time, years or maybe moments ago, when they were wild and glittering. The looker's expression was one of worry, however. She didn't like that.

"...Arceus...Sapph..." And Ruby intoned his words with great relief when her eyes fluttered fully open. "Don't scare me like that, you horrible girl." He moved to touch the girl's arm, only to find it recoil at the word "horrible".

"Oh...I didn't mean it like that, silly." Here Sapphire's eyes twinkled, and she weakly tried to flick his outstretched hand with her fingers. The boy sighed and rubbed his "hurt" hand. "You're so damn reckless."

Her chuckle was throaty and dry, and almost obscenely soft. It occurred to Ruby then that he had never heard her quite as soft as then, a sign that troubled him greatly. He averted his gaze and instead stared at the glass tank nearby.

It was incongruous with the room's curves and soft colors, yet fitting with its edges and angles. Inside was something that was once implausibly alive, and now truthfully so. The creature was not blue but bluer, all curves and gem-bright and pulsing with life. It was sleeping - eyes closed, fins and ribbony antennae twitching - and peacefully too.

Sapphire was looking at the newborn with a queer expression, one of awe and wonder and faith, all the while touching the spot where a gaping hole had once formed upon her abdomen. It had mysteriously regenerated, the nurses murmured to themselves, flesh filling flesh until nothing remained of the ordeal but a vaguely starburst-shaped discoloration on her stomach. Her whispers were quiet, little statements.

"I'm all...beaten up...you'll have to take care...of Manaphy for me..."

"You don't need to tell me that, honestly." And Ruby slipped his palm over the tank, feeling the creature that was to set everything right mere inches away from him. The new weight on his shoulders didn't aggravate him as much as Sapphire thought it would; his face actually seemed to light up in a way, and that made her cheerful.

"Then you and Platinum will be all better, and we can all have a proper vacation once in our busy lives. Ahh, think of all the fun times we'll have - more agreeable than all this fighting and mucking about is!"

"...Promise?"

Her hand was chilled and heavy, and the difference in temperature (among other things) made goose bumps riot on his skin. His hand, no matter how well-moisturized he tried to make it, was slightly rough and exceedingly warm, and comforted her by filling the gaps between her fingers. His show-smile softened.

"Yes. That's a promise."

* * *

"You have committed many grave crimes, Giovanni."

Red, Wallace, Steven, Cynthia, and a wild-looking man dressed in white robes sat at a table in front of the former Team Rocket leader. They were arrayed against him, called to judge the notorious crime boss that had finally surrendered for his son.

Cynthia was first to talk, and quickly pointed out the crimes he will be charged of: running a crime syndicate that thrived on black-market goods and illegal experimentation, as well as numerous money-earning rackets. "It would seem that the charges against you are overwhelming, and no doubt many regions have awaited your imprisonment." She leaned back into the black fur of her coat, serious as ever.

"That is true," Giovanni replied gruffly. "And I do not regret...trying to shape the world in the manner I see fit. However, I left all these ambitions...in the hope of being with my son again." A shadow crossed his eyes, and he stared down at the floor. "...No matter what the cost."

Wallace frowned mildly, brushing his aquamarine-blue bangs out of his eyes. "I'm afraid I will have to maintain a similar stance on this issue. These crimes cannot go unpunished. It is only right."

He looked over at Red, who sighed softly and carefully pieced together a grin. Despite the wrongs he had suffered under Giovanni, his expression was kind. "You already know what my view is on this matter, Wallace. I believe in his sincerity. You know me, I'm all for 'redemption'." And he laughed a short laugh.

"Any more thoughts?...Ah, yes, Alder."

"I feel that this young man is right," the strange man known as "Alder" admitted. The string of Pokéballs on his shoulders clashed with the starburst shock of hair over his head, yet his possibly comical appearance was serious. "The fact that this man had given up everything just to find his son again must merit something, right...? At least," and here he coughed, "in my view."

"Very well. We will see whether your words ring true, Red." Steven cleared his throat and rubbed the rings that made his hands cold upon the table. "For now, we reserve judgment until a more opportune time. For now we need your assistance."

* * *

"Crystal?"

"Oh, hi Em." Her troubles seemed to melt away at seeing her favorite ward, although the blonde boy was not blind to the eye bags. The wheelchair she had used were replaced by stiff crutches, leaning against the wall behind her. She had been transported to the Battle Frontier, she explained, to help in the planning of the operations concerning Manaphy.

Emerald was wearing a thick green sweater and his hair in a low ponytail, and stood at the doorway of the makeshift interrogation room. He was oddly subdued today, not sad but thoughtful. He had not been talking to her recently, and he found that the recent dangerous turn of events was putting everyone on edge. It was a difficult time.

"How are you? How was your watch with Green?"

"It was alright."

Which was half a truth, really. More Galactic Grunts had ambushed them, apparently coinciding with the similar attack at Snowpoint. There was a problem with this group however, for their leader had deserted them in the middle of battle. Emerald's Dusclops had sensed a dark intent fleeing the scene, but the sheer amount of opponents distracted further tracking. "Maybe one or two Grunts got away in the mess, but most are pointless without a leader." He rubbed his hands together, as if bracing himself, and continued talking. "You're overworking yourself. You should concentrate on getting better."

The indigo-haired girl only smiled and rubbed her palms over her blanketed lap. "I am getting better. Platinum and Sapphire are in worse shape, we have to take extra care of them. It's not too bad now that I'm on the mend these past few weeks." She was being selfless again, Emerald thought, and his chest throbbed at the thought. Years and years of selflessness seemed so effortless for her.

"I...I care for you, you know."

"I know. You and Gold and Silver and everyone want me back up on my feet."

Emerald stayed silent, and Crystal felt that he didn't really believe her.

"Don't worry, I'll be up and about again right away-"

"I-It's not that."

The falter in his voice made Crystal search his face. The blonde's bright green eyes were looking at her with a strange light, and this made her...nervous? His mouth was set firmly into a line, and his face was creased with worry, thought, and a new emotion that she had not seen in him before.

An emotion, Emerald knew, was unconsciously budding, suppressed no longer in his words.

"I care for you, you know."

A peculiar sensation bubbled in the pit of Emerald's stomach as he saw Crystal pause, then turn from pale to paler to red. His own cheeks burned, but he was a stubborn boy and remained quiet for a moment before continuing. "Please don't put yourself in unnecessary danger. I don't think I could bear it."

His face darkened back to that time at the Hoenn Battle Frontier. This change in tone did not go unnoticed, and his listener was made speechless at his repressed emotion.

He murmured an (apologetic?) "good night" and left her to sleep. She bid him the same with a quiet voice.

Neither one slept very deeply.

**TBC...**


	22. Chapter 22: The Comeback

_A/N:_

_(This fic may have been on an IV drip recently, but still alive and eager to get back into shape._

_I was rereading this story one bored weekend and I found myself jarred by all the little details that seemed off._

_So I decided to tweak every chapter a little bit, and after reading it again from the beginning I found it better._

_Most changes aren't very big, and I think I tried and ultimately failed to completely fix the tendency to switch between "blond/blonde" and "brunet/brunette"._

_There are a few extra lines that help in clarifying some bits I found vague, and rewrote a few lines to fit into the character's speech patterns._

_The rest are just general spelling problems, and the occasional spacing fix._

_Also, I'm using o's to break the paragraphs apart here, since for some reason the lines and asterisks in FFNet's story editor vanish sometimes when I post._

_It happened at the revisions of the chapters too…_

_That's what I get for typing the first twenty-one chapters of something in Notepad._

_But don't worry…the last few (including this one) will be in Word._

_/ blah, blah, text wall blah!)_

_I hope you enjoy!_

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_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Special. :)_

_._

**Chapter 22: The Comeback**

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"Give Lenora and the girls my regards. It will be good to get together again."

It was morning, early enough for the sky to show lime green and pale periwinkle before the sun.

Alder had come to Sinnoh's Battle Frontier harbor, preparing to return to his home region. A very mature-looking man Alder was, with the heart of a bright child. He had a thick woolen coat on, covering his thin white robes. The other Champions came to bid him goodbye, standing by the sea. The fiery-haired man smiled at Cynthia's bidding. "Sure. It won't be long before the Junipers send their own Pokédex Holders, anyway, and we all know how much arrangements those warrant." Alder rubbed his stubbly chin in thought. "There are some candidates, but as of now I think it'll take time before they can join the other Pokédex Holders. No one's been picked yet, as far as I can tell. "

"That'll be something," Steven remarked, and Wallace chuckled at his friend's tone in surprise. "We'll have another set of remarkable children on our hands. Working alongside them makes me feel old enough as it is."

He made a discreet look at Red, who laughed.

Alder groaned, knowing out that he was at least a good five years older than most of them.

"At this rate, it's not the title of 'Champion' Trainers should be chasing after – it ought to be 'Pokédex Holder'! Count yourself a lucky one, boy. You've got both names to be proud of."

With a hearty laugh and a few more handshakes, Alder boarded the boat and sped away on the breaking waves. The four remaining Champions watched their colleague depart and slowly disappear into the water line before turning back, letting their latest situation sink with the dawning light and the morning snow.

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"You know, the others are probably having breakfast by now. "

Wallace—clad in a white jacket one might call "fashionable"—spoke to Red. He noted the ferocity in which the boy devoured the rice ball in his hand, and saw the injured arm (now half-way healed) dangle. "Why don't you join them?"

He made a pointed glance at the food in Red's hand. "Surely you can't be satisfied with that one rice ball. A growing boy's got to have his vitamins." The black-haired trainer chewed on the seaweed wrapper and made a face. "Nah, I've still got some stuff to do. And I'm not a boy, I'm already eighteen."

He finished his snack and grinned. "Why, that makes me quite adult already, I think."

Cynthia smiled at the "man". "You're an adult just in the legal sense, perhaps. There's a lot more to being an adult than shooting past eighteen." She twined a lock of corn silk hair towards the lapel of her coat as she spoke. "Still, being a kid's been fun, isn't it? I was a cutie-pie too, back then."

"You guys sound so old…"

And the other three Champions laughed.

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**~ooOoo~**

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"You'll just disturb her with your noise."

"My 'noise'? You underestimate me, Green!"

And Blue made a face that was almost shocked. "It's much better if l would go and bring Platinum's breakfast. Yellow's going to check up on Sapphire. And besides, no boy ought to be in those rooms at this time, right?"

She made an impish smile that implied all kinds of meanings. A good number of boys at the breakfast table burned in the face, and Green had to smirk at how easily the younger ones can get flustered. They were all present, save for Sapphire, Platinum, and Red. This greater ratio of boys to girls assured a lack of order on the table, and less chatter in favor of eating.

The blue-eyed girl sipped her milk tea, and continued arranging food onto a tray. She was a kind of nurturing sort, as Silver's bringing up evidenced. It was a change from her usual flirtatious demeanor, another side to the "noisy woman". Blue whispered something to Crystal that made the serious girl flush a bit, and bid the boys a good morning before going on her way.

Green sealed his lips with the brim of his coffee cup (he liked his brew hot and quite bitter—whenever he could get it) and stopped himself. He watched the brunette girl bounce from her seat, tray in hand, and wondered how much strength she mustered to be this good humored in the morning.

Blue was rearranging toast when she whispered, soft and serious, to the person across her.

"Remember what we talked about earlier, okay?"

She eyed her conversation partner, who looked up with wide violet eyes.

_._

_The two girls were in their shared room, in the early morning. Blue was the first to hear of the story._

_"Are you serious?"_

_Crystal sighed, soft and tired. She only pointed to a gift, hidden carefully enough behind a stack of papers. A Gracidea flower stood faintly upright in a simple glass bottle that might have held soda pop. It had a beautiful blush color in its six petals, and leaves of bright green._

_The brunette girl remembered it as a memento of Shaymin, left behind after it had appeared and "spoken" to them back at Route 224. In spite of the rough journey back (perhaps it was a particularly lively flower) Emerald had managed to bring it back with him intact._

_She, to Crystal's slight exasperation, made a little squeal of joy. "This is marvelous, my girl! Who would have thought that Rald—our rough-around-the edges Rald—could be so sweet just for you? It's quite obvious he has feelings for you! Ooh, how are you going to answer him?"_

_She looked expectantly at Crystal, who groaned. "I don't know! I can't think," she claimed, feeling her closed eyes roll under the knuckles she pressed against them. "I don't feel like myself. I'd take a long walk, if I could. Get away from all this. I mean…I've never had someone…take interest in me before. Now of all times."_

_Her palms burned from her cheeks._

_Blue sighed, an elder-sister sort of sigh, and patted the girl's shoulder. "Crys, maybe you've been thinking about it too much. He cares for you, plain and simple, for a while now probably. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, after all."_

_"I mean…would it really be so bad if Rald likes you that way?"_

_._

Blue's sentiment weighed on Crystal's mind, and it made her space out a little. She almost spread jam on her scrambled eggs, poured syrup into her cereal bowl—a bowl that Diamond was glad to exchange for—and became quite distracted with her cocoa, until Blue snapped her out of the reverie.

She nodded, and blew the hotness from her cup until it stopped burning her already bright face.

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**~ooOoo~**

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There was a clash of wills that had lasted almost a decade in that room. The two figures sitting across each other made a stark difference in the morning light—both black haired and with grave faces, looking at the face of whom they considered one of their most powerful enemies.

Red was watching the grave grey eyes before him carefully. It was a difficult task, having fought with the criminal Giovanni before, to ask for a mutual alliance. Team Rocket and its evils had inflicted scars in the Battler's heart, and he knew that within the former crime boss a wound, too, remained unhealed.

But times were different now, and today they were supposed to fight on the same side. He found the man sitting in front of him no less at fault, no less a sinner, but a more sympathetic man. He was not just a criminal—he was also a father who had longed to have his son again. Red's first words to the man were cooled, but kind.

"I heard Cynthia talking about giving you house arrest instead of actually going to jail. So that once this is over, Silver could live with you again. With that in mind, I hope you're still willing to help us."

Giovanni—in his dark clothes sans hat—remained silent, but the widening of his eyes was not completely obscured. This silence went on for a moment, and the young man let him have it before speaking again.

"We need to know what Sird's plan of action is. It seemed like her goal is what Team Galactic is chasing after too. Why would that be? Do you know what Team Galactic's plans are?"

"…Learning from Team Aqua and Magma's mistakes was simple. When using the powers of Pokémon, not one force must overpower the other. Since the Hoenn crisis, Team Galactic and I have known this. Hence, they will attempt the completion of the Sinnoh triad's energy. This raw energy is what Galactic plans on using to reclaim their leader once more."

"'Reclaim?' What does this mean? Is this about what happened to Pearl, Dia and Platinum?"

"I suppose it is, if you are referring to those Sinnoh trainers. Team Galactic wishes to retrieve their leader Cyrus from the Distortion World. This gateway can only be opened by a great power of a Legendary Trio. He used the Legendaries of the Lakes to open the gateway the first time, I believe. This time, they are trying a new triad—the nature-based Legendaries."

"…Sird… What about her? What does she want? And how does she know about Manaphy?"

"She had collaborated with Team Galactic once before and seeks the Distortion World, for Giratina. She seeks its power, although for whatever purpose she seems to have taken a deep interest in Manaphy as well. She seems to want to use its rejuvenating power for something. It is similar with the abilities of Phione dew, because its energy acts upon the very particles of our body and renews them. I learned of this as I was recuperating from the wounds I sustained in the airship crash."

A striking memory returned to Red's mind—hot flames, smoking skies, and a lone burned man holding his son above the wreckage. The bandages under Giovanni's coat masked the melting burns of his flesh.

The Champion was about to speak some more, until a scarred hand asked for silence.

"This knowledge led me to seeking out the Phione colonies of Sinnoh and taking some dew from them. I let Sird lead the operation. However your companion, Oak's assistant, showed me how far it had gone…it was too much. She made her plan known to me before leaving Team Rocket, thinking that I wouldn't be able to stop her. So I went to find my son myself…I went to find you all, to warn you and give you aid."

Red frowned as Giovanni's disposition became grimmer, and he knew then that he was seeing a man whose sense of justice was realigned at the prospect of finding his child. The end had changed the means of the plan, and Sird's deed had prompted the former Viridian Gym Leader to warn the Pokédex Holders.

"What does Mewtwo have to do with this?" Red had his lips pressed into a firm line. "Sird was just weaponizing him, wasn't she? He's not a Legendary."

"Mewtwo is a clone of the source of all life—or rather, clone of the personification of life in our world. The mirage Pokémon has proved ever illusive, even now. With Giratina as the personification of death, plans to form a new source of energy must be ongoing. Sird must think that Mewtwo could be a substitute in Mew's role to counter Giratina. With her knowledge of the resonance of the Legendary abilities, I think she will use the both of these creatures for her true purpose."

"It doesn't end there at Coronet, then…do you know of anything more?"

"I am afraid that is all I know on the matter."

Red got back on his feet, and saw a flash of burgundy at the door from the corner of his eye. He turned back to Giovanni, and offered a hand. He couldn't resist the grateful smile on his face. "Thank you for helping us."

"…Thank you."

They shook hands, and felt that they had finally reached a common ground.

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**~ooOoo~**

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It had been a medical miracle, the nurses declared (although that scrawny Battle Factory Brain protested at the oxymoron). Words of a marvelous change, a shocking development scattered in hushed tones among the Pokémon Centers in the whole Battle Frontier.

The once frail, wisp of the wild child Miss Birch—lying bedridden a day ago—was now in near-perfect health.

The staff did tests, and made examinations, and asked questions, and the most that they could guess was that the fragments of Manaphy's egg had been absorbed into her flesh. These pieces must have had a healing effect, and made the recovery doubly fast. One of the nurses took a sample from Sapphire's middle, mentioning something about "a hunch", while the others were careful of her vital signs before unhooking her from the machines that whirred at her bedside.

There was no other explanation for the phenomenon that was Sapphire. She had, upon the removal of her IV drip, begun to "test" her health by bouncing around the room before the Healer that had brought her breakfast. Yellow found her sitting cross-legged on the bed, flushed and slightly sweaty but invigorated.

"My goodness—Sapphire!" Yellow squeaked, nearly dropping the tray in surprise.

"Hi Yellow! Hey, is that food for me? I'm starving!"

The blonde smiled and joined her friend, carefully setting the tray on the side table. Sapphire wasted no time in eating her fill of berries, buttered toast, and scrambled eggs. She listened and nodded at Yellow's inquiries about her condition, and it was obvious at how well the girl had recovered.

Yellow reached up to stroke Sapphire's hair, and felt how damp her friend's forehead was from her exercise. "We were so worried about you, Sapph. We thought you could have died. We wouldn't know what to do if virtually everyone wasn't able to fight."

Sapphire's eyes went wide, and she swallowed hard. "W-what happened?"

The blonde girl blinked, and suddenly sputtered at her own outburst. "I…I didn't want to make you worry, I'm sorry! Most still have past injuries from that explosion back at Mt. Coronet. And when you went under, Sird and Team Galactic tried to get you. Since the whole confrontation at Snowpoint, Green and Silver's wounds have reopened a bit—and poor Platinum hasn't gotten back on her feet yet."

"'Platinum?'" The wild child's brows furrowed. "She…she accompanied me the day I fell. What happened to her?"

"Oh…Sapph…she's hypothermic. She almost froze fishing you out of the water. B-but she's recovering quickly! Wait! Sapphire, please!"

The brunette had leapt to her feet and was about to leave the room in search of Platinum. She took a few swift steps before opening the door, and smartly collided with the person coming in.

"Wah!"

Diamond landed hard on his posterior, surprised at the impact he certainly did not expect to be three inches beyond the doorway. His hat fluttered to the ground, and his eyes opened their very widest. "S-Sapphire!"

"Dia, where's Platinum? I've gotta see if she's ok—"

A small pair of hands grasped at her elbow, and Sapphire turned to see the petite blonde pull her back. "Sapphire, please don't just run off! Platinum's fine, it's you that was in the worst shape." Her faint green eyes were worried as she scanned the still-pale patient's face. "Just…just take it easy first, please."

The cobalt-eyed boy stammered and steered Sapphire back into the room. "S-she's absolutely right, Sapph, you've got to rest! I…I didn't think that you'd be on your feet so quick, but the n-nurses said not to just let you go off just anywhere!"

He squeaked when Sapphire shook her forearms free from his hold with ease. "But I'm fine! I've been up before the sun rose, and I've been moving around—I'm perfectly fine!"

"You're still awfully pale…"

"Lack of sunlight, is all! It's cold in Snowpoint, if you haven't noticed."

Yellow, thinking for a moment, cut into the two's bickering pensively. "I'll…I'll get Ruby in here to guard you if you don't. You know he wouldn't even let you get out of your bed, let alone run off somewhere else. Would you want that?"

Somewhere in the back of Dia's mind the picture of a nail being hit square on the head formed, and he watched Sapphire struggle with herself before throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"…Alright, I'll stop! But I wanna be there when Red calls a meeting, got it?"

Yellow could only sigh in thankfulness.

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**~ooOoo~**

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A good while after Platinum had her breakfast into the room, Gold and Emerald came over to "liven up the Lady's day". Green was wary of the two hot-blooded boys, but Blue had thoughtfully left a cup of tea for Platinum after bringing in the food tray, and Gold capitalized on her "suggestion" by bringing tea party things—cups, saucers, little spoons, biscuits, and all its frills.

"You are a very lucky lady," Gold remarked after stealing a side table from the girl's bedside to use for tea. "I would normally question my sanity as to why I would be throwing a tea party, of all things, but this is technically 'your' tea party, and I am merely being proactive by doing the throwing myself."

"Don't listen to him," Emerald whispered to Platinum as he passed her bed, carrying a plate of biscuits in his hands. "He's a showoff that thinks he knows all about girls." She smiled at this, and her shoulders shook with faint laughter.

"I think I know a good deal more than you, at least!"

"H-hey!"

A nurse slipped in the room, very discreetly, and came to Platinum to check on her condition. After taking note of her vitals, she brought out a syringe from her pocket. "This medicine will probably help speed up your recovery. I'll inject this, and if you feel anything after a while, don't forget that you can call us anytime, ok?"

The nurse brought the syringe of what looked like a slightly luminescent fluid to Platinum, who winced at the shot being administered. She made a note on the chart, and told the heiress to buzz if there was any problem, before leaving the room.

This was left relatively unnoticed by the two boys, who were bickering playfully by now, making a show of pouring their own tea into the cups and adding copious amounts of sugar and cream. Emerald seemed slightly more flustered, and at last stopped the discussion by sitting at the side table and cramming a biscuit into his mouth. Gold knocked back some tea, holding the cup in his fist and letting the contents slip into his mouth.

Platinum sniffed and murmured in her weak voice, bringing her own cup to her lips. Her words still slurred and stayed soft, but the black haired boy caught the tone on the lady's mumble and replaced his beverage on the table. His expression was one of incredulity and amusement.

"'Uncouth', you say? Ah, where are my manners? I might be a little rusty with them, but I have them."

And to his companions' surprise, the Breeder deftly took a sip from his cup in the refined style—one hand's fingers carefully settled on the saucer's rim corner, the other curled around the handle, pinky out. He went on about how his mother made him learn that, and admitted its uses in picking up girls.

"Which reminds me—I'll give a cup to Crys, she's been looking all kinds of baffled recently."He made a pointed glance at Emerald, who distracted himself by dropping another sugar cube in his drink. The blonde boy shifted his focus to the patient on the bed, who put her cup back on the bedside table with shaking hands.

Maybe it was a strange manner of illumination, but Platinum seemed to have regained color. She smiled at Emerald, and rasped her first audible words in a while.

"…You've got some sugar on your nose."

And with an exhilarated laugh, Emerald wiped his face and resumed flicking biscuits into his mouth before calling the others.

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**~ooOoo~**

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Silver lingered at the doorway after seeing the Battler leave and give him a thumbs up. His steps echoed hollowly in the room, and the redhead couldn't help but lower his gaze upon entering—seeing the criminal Giovanni so intertwined with the father Giovanni made it awkward.

The black-coated man was seated at the chair closest to the window across the doorway, having entertained Red's questions earlier. There was an unearthly pallor to his face, and the darkness around his eyes were a little more pronounced, but Silver could still see the proud face in the dull light.

Without batting an eye, Giovanni spoke first. "Have you eaten already?"

"…Ate a little while ago." Silver thumbed at the handkerchief in his pocket, but made no move to pull it out. There was something so simple, so powerful, and so primal about the query that the red-haired boy shivered. Giovanni seemed satisfied with this answer, and watched his son formulate a proper follow-up.

"…And you?"

"I will in a moment. The nurses bring me food here."

Silver saw his father as he was—weakened, tired, enduring. The corner of his mouth angled just so, and from the tiredness the Trader saw contentment in his father's chrome eyes. He saw unspoken things in those eyes-now familiar to his own-that pulled at him, as if the blood they shared was tugging them closer.

Driven by the sudden urge to close the distance, Silver stepped forward and let the door swing closed.

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**TBC...**


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